08/31/2022
Thank you Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts for putting this in perspective. A rising tide lifts all boatsā¦
This post has been brewing for a few months, but we finally had to sit down and write the words. The recent post by our friend and colleague Sharon Terenzi The Chocolate Journalist, asking when a craft chocolate maker stopped being craft and the discussion it caused, made it feel like the right time to comment.
The fine chocolate industry is an amazing place to create and work alongside talented and passionate people. We are grateful every day to be part of it, as we have been for much our lives.
But thereās something that we fear is getting lost and we felt compelled to talk about it. Our small sector of the industry (itās defined in many ways, but for sake of argument, whether you call it āpremiumā, āfineā, āspecialtyā chocolate) makes up less than 5% of the overall chocolate industry.
Our industry has been working hard to change the way consumers think about chocolate ā understanding that we pay way too little for a chocolate bar, that the price doesnāt reflect the labor in cacao growing countries because cacao is priced as a commodity. Urging consumers to ask questions about where their chocolate comes from, and to appreciate the vast variety of flavors that come from cacao grown in all different parts of the world. Telling each of our passionate stories on our websites and social media feeds.
We are all committed to elevating chocolate so that consumers expect to pay more for it, and cacao farmers can be paid fairly for their labor. Many companies in our industry have made huge strides in this effort, and a lot of those companies with the biggest impact are those companies, both chocolatiers and chocolate makers, who have grown their customer base over years of hard work. We find it petty that a couple of their colleagues in the industry now imply those companies are not really ācraftā anymore. In our view, if the companyās quality and commitment has remained the same, then no matter how big a company gets, we should ALL be applauding them.
Also consider that part of the reason that consumersā minds have been opened to the possibility of paying more for chocolate is because of an overall growth in the specialty food category itself. And this category grew and prospered during the pandemic because consumers had more time to care about the quality of what they were eating ā do you know who is taking note? Big, multinational chocolate companies. The ones consumers already know, and already enjoy their products. The ones that you can find easily in the grocery or drug store while running your usual errands. The ones who have HUGE marketing budgets and can steal pieces of OUR industry that suit them, adding buzzwords like āartisanā, ācraftā, and āhandmadeā, or certifications that appeal to consumers without doing the work that we are doing to try to elevate and change fine chocolate. Have you tried a Lindt 70% bar lately? Itās something that we do occasionally, just to see if the flavor and/or quality has changed. To be honest, it tastes great to consumers, and itās available in almost every grocery and drug store in North America at 1/3 to 1/2 the price that our fine chocolate makers can possibly sell their bars and make any kind of profit. THAT is your competition, not each other.
But instead of coming together to create a united voice to counter ābig chocolateā, we squabble amongst ourselves. Weāve heard stories of chocolate makers laughing at chocolatiers, calling them āmeltersā. For many consumers, chocolatiers are their first introduction to fine chocolate, and this piques their curiosity to learn more and experience more. Weāve seen arguments about what to call ourselves, who gets to be āsmallā, who gets to be ācraftā, whether we should be āfineā chocolate or āspecialtyā, or something else entirely.
This is not to ignore that there are differing points of view or to suggest that these differences should be brushed under the rug. Language and definitions matter, they help to create transparency and trust with consumers. So, letās finally agree on a common language and move on to the bigger issues. Letās also give some recognition to the fact that we think way more deeply about some of these distinctions than consumers do.
At the end of the day, we are 5% of the industryā¦we are too small to divide and compete with ourselves if we want to make a difference against BIG, multi-national chocolate. Letās instead resolve to work together ā if there are differences of opinion, it shouldnāt mean that we need to faction off from each other. If we disagree, letās bring it out into the open and have a conversation instead of passive aggressive sniping on social media. We need to come together and work towards shared goals:
ā¢ Ensuring that we pay cocoa farmers fairly for their labour.
ā¢ Educating consumers about the difference between āslaveā labour and children working on their family farms or working with their parents because that is currently the best option to keep them safe.
ā¢ Educating consumers about the difference between candy and what we create.
ā¢ Creating demand for OUR chocolate as an industry ā that is the only way we are going to truly make a difference for cocoa farmers.
