8-11 March - Chocoa event in Amsterdam. Good cocoa, better chocolate

8 - 11 March 2013

Chocoa is a multi-day event aiming to stimulate production and consumption of sustainable cocoa by staging three activities from Friday the 8th of March until Monday the 11th: - The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) will bring together the cocoa industry for a conference to explore the possibilities of boosting the volume of sustainable cocoa. - Het Scheepvaartmuseum will host a chocolate fair to offer the consumer a choice of good chocolate. - The Amsterdam Hilton will unite the best of Dutch chefs to follow master classes on the use of fine flavour cocoa in their recipes.

Why this event? Only 10% of all cocoa worldwide is produced sustainably. With a growing number of people looking for sustainable chocolate, the volume needs to rise. Being the world’s largest port for the handling and storage of cocoa and the region with the world’s largest volume of cocoa processing, Amsterdam is in a position to contribute to the sustainability of the cocoa supply chain.

The Chocoa conference on Friday the 8th of March is focussing on fine or flavour and single origin cocoa as drivers for the growth in volume of sustainable cocoa. The market share of this speciality cocoa is modest, around 7% of the total cocoa production. The market share of certified sustainable cocoa is not much bigger (high estimates say 10%). With more and more manufacturers and sellers of chocolate committing to the exclusive use of sustainable cocoa, the volume of sustainable cocoa needs to rise dramatically. Fine or flavour and single origin cocoa holds characteristics that make it easier to meet sustainability criteria.

In the meantime the consumer is starting to appreciate the wide variety of aroma’s that come with the chocolate. This development is still lagging behind the coffee market, where the number of different varieties, regions and brands is overwhelming. The conference pays attention to the need to build consumer preference and confidence for good chocolate.

Fine or flavour and single origin cocoa mainly come from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Indian Ocean. However, West Africa is the main source of cocoa. Are there possibilities to develop fine or flavour and single origin cocoa in Africa? Surprising findings, which will be discussed during the conference.

The ambition of Chocoa is to be more than a ‘one off’ discussion ending with a cocktail reception on a cold February Friday in Amsterdam. Through the ‘Cocoa Connect’ website, that will be launched during the conference, virtual working groups will be facilitated that can continue the debate in cyber space, allowing all stakeholders to participate. At next year’s conference the results will be presented.

Be part of the discussion and join us in Amsterdam on the 8th of March. For more information, the conference program or registration go to www.chocoa.nl