An immersive cocoa experience in Amsterdam for entrepreneurs from African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions
ITC and partners exhibited at Chocoa 2024 in Amsterdam to build commercial spaces for its chocolate network from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
February marked ITC and its partners’ participation in the Chocoa trade show, a platform for global cocoa producers, buyers and consumers.
In a first-ever collaboration, it transformed into the Amsterdam Cocoa Week through a partnership with the World Cocoa Foundation. This week-long event featured the World Cocoa Foundation’s Partnership Meeting on 5 and 6 February, followed by the Chocoa Trade Fair from 7 to 9 February, and the Chocoa Chocolate Days on 10 and 11 February.
Cocoa prices are at an historical high, underscoring the volatility of the cocoa and the challenges for its development.
This made the events timelier than ever, allowing cocoa producers to renew ties with their customers, capitalize on optimal pricing opportunities and negotiate favorable terms with buyers.
By teaming up with Alliances for Action, and other ITC sustainable agribusiness programmes, brands from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific brought their products to a global stage.
ITC’s booth highlighted diversity of origins
The ITC booth gathered actors from bean to bar from across the world, including total of 21 chocolate and cocoa enterprises.
These included Tan Bun Skrati from Suriname, The Kairi Chocolate Company from Trinidad and Tobago, Milz Chocolat, Definite Chocolate, Oko Caribe, Conacado, and Cacao Florencio Ortega from the Dominican Republic, Ayitika from Haiti, Pure Chocolate, Likkle More Chocolate and Coldbush Organics from Jamaica, Midunu Chocolates, Adansi Sweet Company Ltd and Chocoluv from Ghana, Chocolateries Nohi, Fire Mountain, Soctracao from Cameroon, Cacao Fiji from Fiji, Wilex/ Koko Loa from Samoa, and Cathliro and KPSI from Solomon Islands.
They connected with other businesses, shared contacts and information on packaging and machinery to compete better in the EU market. Meetings with potential distributors and buyers helped build long-term collaborations and facilitate access to new markets.
ITC organized two tasting sessions – one for Ghana and one for the Caribbean – and three of the participating companies organized individual sessions. This was a perfect opportunity for them to raise awareness on the importance and value of chocolate made at origin.
The voices of the cocoa industry get a platform
It also offered a platform for knowledge exchange and dialogue.
These features highlighted recent EU corporate sustainability milestones, challenges faced by cocoa producers, green practices in cocoa, product innovations and the power of brand storytelling.
At the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting, Yluminada Ortega from Dominican business Cacao Florencio Ortega participated in a panel on cocoa producers, designed to put farmers’ voices at the forefront of the conference.
Participating companies engaged in conferences, panels, and market tours. Both chocolate makers and cocoa producers learned about the specificities and requirements of the EU market in each category.
Key take-aways for participating businesses
The event offered companies the opportunity to keep up with emerging industry trends, access new learning and best practices, and adapt their business strategies to remain competitive and responsive to changing market dynamics.
Almost all companies on the stand sold out at the fair, clearly demonstrating consumers’ and buyers’ growing interest in new flavours and origins. Oko-Caribe, known for its raw and semi-finished cocoa products, is now gaining traction in the chocolate segment as well.
Shining moments were Pure chocolate receiving a gold medal for their cocoa beans at the Cocoa of Excellence competition, and Definite Chocolate taking silver at the Hot Chocolate competition.
About the projects
The ACP Business-Friendly programme is funded by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and jointly implemented by ITC’s Alliances for Action, the World Bank and UNIDO. It seeks to improve the ability of agribusiness firms in ACP countries to compete, grow and prosper in domestic, regional and international markets. Through the Alliances for Action approach, it promotes inclusive and sustainable agricultural value chains that value all stakeholders from farm to shelf.
The Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF) (July 2021 – June 2025) is based on a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and the International Trade Centre. The programme supports MSMEs in the digital technologies through its EcomConnect programme and agribusiness sectors through its Alliances for Action programme. Its ambition is two-fold: to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable transformation of food systems, partially through digital solutions, and drive the internationalisation of tech start-ups and export of IT&BPO companies in selected Sub-Saharan African countries.
The UK Trade Partnerships (UKTP) programme works with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to increase exports from SME suppliers to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). The UKTP programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is implemented by the International Trade Centre.
