Why I can start buying Cadbury’s again

Last week I was wandering the aisles of the local supermarket in Shanghai and came across a packet of  Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Fair Trade buttons. I followed up this discovery with some further research into Cadbury’s Fair Trade and CSR initiatives. What I found was impressive and here are three reasons why I am now a reformed Cadbury Dairy Milk customer:

1. Integrated Approach
Not only is Cadbury committed to Fair Trade, they are tackling head on the issue of health and healthy eating, a must for a chocolate company who mainly target kids. On their new Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons packaging they have all the information regarding calorie intake and promote ‘treat wise’ snacks. Their website goes into even more detail about exactly what is in their products and what the recommended daily intake is for children and adults. The inclusion of both Fair Trade and responsible marketing of their chocolate products demonstrates Cadbury’s self assessment as a corporate citizen and how their product relates to their customers and partners.

2. Substance and Depth
Slapping a Fair Trade stamp and ‘Be treat wise’ logo on packaging  is easy, it costs money but is ultimately an advertising and marketing tool. That’s why I was suitably impressed by the way Cadbury demonstrate their commitment to Fair Trade and other CSR initiatives through their Blog. This is a great platform for customers to dive as deeply as they want into Cadbury’s commitment to Fair Trade. It clearly outlines their affiliations and partnerhips such as the Cocoa Ambassador Programme in Ghana. The blog has personal stories, videos and is interactive. It’s clear they know what they are doing and what they are talking about.

3. The price hasn’t changed
My biggest gripe with Fair Trade is that it often increases the cost of the product for the consumer. Although certification can be costly, if it is passed onto the consumer Fair Trade products become a luxury for the upper and middle classes and the demand for Fair Trade is reduced. It’s impressive that Cadbury are absorbing these costs.

  • Jasian

    Hi Emily,

    I think you would be interested to watch this BBC report that was created last year (2010) about child slavery in cocoa production and the issues with the Fair Trade scheme. It’s very interesting.

    This is a link to the first part posted on YouTube.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjwkRkdP5i4

    I personally think a more balanced view of the scheme can be found outside of Cadbury’s own material/website/blog. Fair Trade is an exercise in brand protection in a competitive market as much as it is an altruistic measure. Chocolate is a really big industry that generates huge profits and Cadbury are a company looking to ensure they keep consumers in 1st world countries on side. Having said that of course, having Fair Trade in place is better than not having it at all!

    On your 3rd point, the amount Cadbury spends on its Fair Trade scheme compared to its profits is disproportionate. The Cocoa Ambassador Programme cost them 45 million pounds last year. They made 808 million pounds pure profit and posted 6 billion pounds worth of sales in 2009. Fair Trade probably helped drive those sales. I think with those kind of figures it’s important to remember that Cadbury as a company is by definition going to do first what’s best for its shareholders and therefore its bottom line. Absorbing some of the costs rather than passing them onto consumers is more about keeping their products competitive than out of the goodness of their heart! Typical internet cynicism/rant type stuff I know.

    On all of this I imagine the success of the scheme will only increase which is positive. Hope the info is helpful and that you watch the BBC report.

    Jason

    ps. I really enjoyed your recent China post!

  • http://twitter.com/EmilyDAth Emily D’Ath

    Hi Jason,

    Thanks for your time in responding thoughtfully to my post. I am looking forward to watching this series and will as soon as I can (youtube is blocked in China and my VPN is painfully slow).

    You make really valid points about the possible motives behind Cadburys fair trade initiatives. And I think you are probably right that it is the bottom line of maintaining customer and shareholder loyalty that has allowed the board to sign off on these initiatives. But I also think it is unfair for all corporations to be labelled as pure profit machines. I have met many people working in the upper echelons of corporations who champion to the bitter end for more social and environmental sustainability.

    There is a long way to go in making the triple bottom line of people planet and profit the norm. But 48 million pounds on one social initiative is a pretty good start.

  • Alex

    Hi Em. This post reminded me that I hadn’t looked into the chocolate fair trade issue for a few years despite being a frequent chocolate consumer (less so in China, thankfully), and I am keen to look at the Cadbury blog now and the BBC report recommended in the comments and be a bit more responsible myself. Thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/EmilyDAth Emily D’Ath

    Let me know what you think. 

    We all want to be able to eat chocolate guilt free :)