Fireside chat with cocoa bosses from West Africa gets heated as they warn markets will have to pay

It was billed in the World Cocoa Foundation agenda as a ‘Fireside Chat.’ Still, the conversation was anything but cozy as the 2024 Partnership Meeting welcomed back Yves Brahima Koné, Cote d’Ivoire’s Coffee & Cocoa Council director general, and Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board, to discuss, among other topics, cocoa production, climate change, farmer income, and the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Hershey’s Tricia Brannigan on cocoa sustainability, responsible procurement and why the WCF is making an impact

Tricia Brannigan, chief procurement officer and VP of Global Procurement at The Hershey Company, was in Amsterdam for WCF’s recent annual Partnership Meeting. She spoke exclusively to Confectionery News on the WCF’s fresh strategy and Hershey’s role in making chocolate enjoyable and cocoa equitable. Read more

Cocoa companies urged to ditch competition and work together for a more sustainable future

The World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting ended as it began, with an address from President Chris Vincent. Two days ago, in his opening remarks, he struck an upbeat chord, pleased with the internal changes in the organisation and a strategy refresh focussing on ‘landscapes,’ that is less Washington-based, and chimed with the meeting’s theme of ‘Aligning for Global Action’ Read more

How ready is the EU Commission to implement its deforestation regulation?

Apart from farmer income/poverty, the most discussed topic on day one of the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam was the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) that will be implemented at the end of this year. Read more

World Cocoa Foundation brings a clear strategy and fresh approach to reforming the chocolate industry

In his opening remarks at this year’s World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam, Chris Vincent, president of the WCF, said this year's conference theme, ‘aligning for global action,’ underscores the critical interconnectedness between cocoa-producing and cocoa-consuming countries, particularly regarding legislation such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Read more

WCF president Chris Vincent talks exclusively to ConfectioneryNews on the shifting landscape in the cocoa world

It’s almost 10 months since we last spoke with Chris Vincent, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). As he prepares for the upcoming Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam (6-7 February), he gives an exclusive and wide-ranging interview to ConfectioneryNews on not only what delegates can expect through two days of high-level discussions but also how he sees the cocoa landscape shaping up over the next year. Read more