UK: Chocolate Company: a sweet profit to help society

Divine Chocolate, the fair-trade chocolate company co-owned by Ghanaian cocoa farmers, has won the Best Social Enterprise in UK award and with a cash prize of £10,000 (14,354 euro).
The Enterprising Solutions Awards, run by the Social Enterprise Coalition on behalf of RBS, NatWest and the Cabinet Office, aims to find the UK?s most innovative social enterprises.

It is just ten years since the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative started to work with British NGOs and ethical businesses to market their own brand. Today Divine Chocolate is sold in all major UK supermarkets. The company also supplies all own-label chocolate for Starbucks, has just launched an American affiliate and expects sales for 2007 to hit £10.5m (15m euro).

When accepting the award Divine Managing Director Sophi Tranchall said:

"We are delighted to be here and it is fantastic to win. As a judge on earlier panels for the Enterprising Solutions Award I learned a lot about how to run a successful business with a social purpose. So it is wonderful to now join the ranks of previous social enterprises who have won this award.

"I would like to thank my parents who taught me that if you think something is wrong you can and should do something about it. And it is the people who eat Divine chocolate and who tell their local supermarket to stock it that really make a difference to the cocoa farmers lives, so if you are one of those people (and you jolly well ought to be!) then thank you too."

www.divinechocolate.com
www.socialenterprise.org.uk