Theyo-Tacheles: Bean-to-Bar Chocolate and Women Empowerment

We love really good chocolate! For us, “good” not only means tasty, but above all produced in a socially ecological manner. You have already learned what that means in the last Theyo Tacheles articles on the subject of child slavery and ' fairstainability '. In this article you can find out why the bean-to-bar approach can be an indicator of good chocolate and how women are disadvantaged in the cocoa industry.

Bean to bar chocolate

Bean-to-bar primarily describes a trading model: from the bean to the bar, the chocolate manufacturer accompanies the entire process. He buys the beans directly from the farmer and roasts, refines and packs them himself. For us, bean-to-bar goes hand in hand with 'direct trade', a trade channel that does not take detours through middlemen. Also, bean-to-bar is not a protected term. And most importantly: bean-to-bar basically says nothing about the quality of the chocolate.

Bean-to-Bar chocolate is not only delicious but also fair ©Raaka Chocolate

Reason enough to define the term for us: the cocoa beans are bought directly from farm cooperatives or the farmers themselves. Processing through to packaging takes place in one place. The bean-to-bar movement began in the USA and creates the possibility of transparent production and being able to influence the quality of the chocolate at every step. In our view, fair working conditions are more likely to be guaranteed if the entire process takes place in one company. For us, bean-to-bar is not an advertising word. It's part of our mission to strengthen the sustainable chocolate industry and produce really good chocolate.

Made by women

Sure, there are women in the cocoa industry, quite a lot in fact. But although women play an enormously important role in the chocolate supply chain, they have little influence. They usually work under harsh conditions, are paid less than their male colleagues and are more vulnerable to injustice and violence. Most cocoa farms are also owned by men. In some countries, women even have no right to own land. We at Theyo want to take action against this inequality. Our products with the '100% made by women' label are in the hands of women from the plantation to processing. Conscious, secure and fairly paid.

Cocoa bean cultivation in the Philippines ©Auro

We also get our cool beans from cocoa cooperations that have a high proportion of farms run by women. And with the chocolate manufacturers, too, we try to ensure a good balance between male and female manufacturers. For example, Auro , Svenska Kakaobolaget , Macao Movement , the Amber Room and Krakakoa are run by at least 50% women. Why is this important to us? To strengthen the visibility and appreciation of women's work and to show that this work must secure livelihoods and feed families. Female empowerment, yay! You can find out more about the topic here, by the way .

You can of course find really good bean-to-bar chocolate here .