Green & Blacks The Maya Gold Story I was born in Nebraska on a farm during World War 2 . After the war we lived in California , then England , then in Omaha , where I learnt the fundamentals of business as a paperboy for the Omaha World Herald , then back in England , then the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania . In 1966 my Uncle Floyd offered me a deal on 1000 acres of rich riverside land in Iowa and a 700 head beef feedlot if I would join him in the farming business after I graduated from the Wharton School . Instead , like many of my contemporaries , I discovered the macrobiotic diet and developed an awareness of the unsustainability , both in terms of human health and of the environment , of the way that food and farming was going . I didn ’ t want to be part of the problem and I aspired to help bring about the solution . So , way back in 1967 , in partnership with my brother Gregory , I set up a macrobiotic restaurant in London , 2 years later a retail store , another year later and we had a branded brown rice and macrobiotic foods packing operation under the Whole Earth brand . By the late 1970 s our Whole Earth peanut butter was in several major supermarkets and we launched the world ’ s first range of fruit juice sweetened jams . Look at that alongside my wholewheat bakery business and you had all the ingredients for the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – I ’ m afraid that much of my product development has just been about finding healthy and organic alternatives to my favourite foods , then marketing them on the assumption that enough people will come into the niche we ’ d created . I have also been involved with the Soil Association since that time , and am now its chair . The Soil Association is Britain ’ s organic food and farming organisation , , researching , lobbying , campaigning and also providing a certification service . Our patron is the Prince of Wales and he is also , and this is unprecedented , the chairman of our Appeal Board – we are about to launch a major fundraising campaign . I ’ m also the author of The Little Food Book , which is a clear and concise overview of all the key food related issues of our time . Available from Amazon and good bookshops . The American edition is coming out this Fall . In 1991 our company Whole Earth Foods launched Green & Black ’ s brand organic dark chocolate made with organic cocoa beans grown in Togo , West Africa . Green & Black ’ s was a high quality product in its own right , the first ever 70 % cocoa solids chocolate to be sold in the UK . It happened to be organic and fairly traded , too , because the cocoa beans were a product of a 1980 s French foreign aid project to stop environmental degradation in Togo ’ s highlands . So who were Mr Green and Mr Black ? We had a strong brand already with Whole Earth so we were tempted to use that brand on the chocolate , but all our packaging boasted ‘ no added sugar ’ so there was no way we could use this well - respected no sugar brand for a product that was 30 % sugar . Also you can only stretch a brand so far before it loses its meaning and we already had organic baked beans , peanut butter , jam , bread , cola drinks , ramen , noodles brown rice and spaghetti sauce all crowding under the umbrella of the Whole Earth brand . Chocolate really was a category too far . So one evening my wife Josephine Fairley and I put on our brainstorming caps . We dismissed all the obvious ‘ green ’ names such as ecochoc , biochoc , Nature ’ s Choc or chocorganico . We wanted something classier and with depth . Something that sounded like it had been around for a long time and was resolutely English . With Green we alluded to the organicness of the product without being too preachy and with ‘ Black ’ s we referenced the ultra darkness of the product . Black is also a fashion colour - it implies style , elegance , no compromise . Also , we were export oriented and needed a name that could be pronounced in any European language . Whole Earth had been a nightmare in this respect , particularly in Japan . Green & Black ’ s had the right ring . I rushed down to my computer , knocked up a rough design in 10 minutes and ran it off on my new colour printer . That still is the basic design of the packaging to this day . It was not easy to sell chocolate in the natural foods sector , however organic and delicious , because there was strong ethical resistance to any product containing sugar – a resistance that we had done more than anyone else to foster . Since the 1960 s Whole Earth had never used sugar in any of its products . But we gradually broke down this barrier , in part because we confronted the issue head on and printed a sugar health warning on the early packaging next to the ingredients list . It stated “ n . b . this product contains sugar , which is associated with dental decay , obesity and obesity related illness . Enjoy good chocolate and keep your sugar consumption as low as possible by always choosing Green & Black ’ s , the chocolate with the highest cocoa solids and the lowest sugar content . ” The chocolate also sold well at Villandry , the Conran Shop , Harvey Nichols and Harrods , capturing London ’ s retail high ground . It was the first 70 % solids eating chocolate and its rich flavour had instant gourmet appeal . We had presented the product to Sainsbury ’ s – which at that time was Britain ’ s leading supermarket chain . Soon after Fate intervened when one evening a bar of Green & Black ’ s was being passed around at a Kensington dinner party and the guests asked Sir John Sainsbury why his Sainsbury ’ s stores didn ’ t stock this delicious chocolate . His wife asked him the same question , quite persistently we ’ ve been told , and the next day he asked his chocolate buyer about it , who could honestly say that he was on the case and had a sample on his desk , sir . We quickly got a listing in 20 stores and we grasped this opportunity to prove ourselves in the mass market . Although quality and flavour were our two main marketable attributes in terms of repeat purchases , we educated the press and consumers on the ethical issues , emphasising the benefits to the African producers . In 1992 we were the first company to win the Ethical Consumers Award and gained the important support of the Women ’ s Environmental Network . Chocolate has for various reasons , a particular appeal to women . Ours was politically right on the button . one of the reasons women crave it sometimes is that it is Nature ’ s most concentrated source of magnesium , which relieves premenstrual tension . With Green & Black ’ s you get far and away the highest ratio of magnesium of any chocolate . Because we paid fair and fixed prices and the growers were not exposed to dangerous chemicals we were guilt free and Togolese matriarchs benefited from the sale of every bar . A headline in The Independent summed it up : “ Right on – And It Tastes Good , Too . ” My wife Jo was a green journalist , with a TV show on British Sky Broadcasting and a column in the Times , so she and I had the right credentials in the deep green community who were our core customers . Sales were taking off and we launched a milk chocolate in 1993 . Then – A crisis ! There was a revolution in Togo when the military government refused to step down , despite losing the election . They shot up the suburbs of Lome and the French cut off aid , precipitating a strike at the ports because nobody was getting paid . We had to fly a container of cocoa beans out to our co packer in France and then fly the freshly made chocolate to Gatwick Airport , where a van was waiting to rush it to make our 2 : 30 delivery slot at Sainsbury ’ s . We didn ’ t need more of that kind of stress . So I started looking for a backup supply source in a more stable political environment . In 1993 I contacted some old friends among the Maya in Belize and found that there was an opportunity to build a new relationship and launch a new product that could be the embodiment of organic and fair trade principles . There had been a cacao planting project there already and it was a classic example of the old development paradigm that is still being repeated worldwide . Started by Britain ’ s Department for International Development in 1983 and taken over by USAID in 1986 , the scheme was built on providing bank loans to encourage farmers to buy hybrid seeds and agrichemicals . Communal reservation land had to be broken up so that farmers could deposit deeds at the bank as collateral . It was based on clearing the forest and planting cacao trees very closely - as little as 8 to 10 feet apart . At this spacing there is little room for shade trees and fertilisers are essential , as are fungicides . The economics of the programme were carefully worked out , but everything stood on the foundation of a $ 1 . 75 per lb selling price , guaranteed by Hershey . The programme finished in 1992 and the aid workers went off . In October 1993 I spoke by phone to Justino Peck , the Chairman of the Toledo Cacao Growers Association ( TCGA ) , the cooperative that represents the Maya Indian cacao growers of southern Belize . At that time they were facing serious problems . As soon as the aid workers had gone Hershey ’ s buying agent progressively reduced the price paid from $ 1 . 80 to $ 1 . 25 to 90 ¢ to 70 ¢ and finally to 55 ¢ a pound . This took place as the trees that had been planted were maturing , and farmers were confronted with the desperate need to make money to pay back the debts they had incurred at the local bank under the USAID - supported loan scheme . Many had to leave home to seek migrant work as orange pickers or sugar cane cutters on plantations in the north , just to earn enough money to service their debts and support their families in their home villages . By 1993 total production had fallen to less than 20 , 000 lbs , generating a net income locally of only $ 11000 . This was a disaster . People were abandoning their plantations and the jungle was taking over . When we came along we needed a relationship that embodied that key word – SUSTAINABILITY . This was as important for us as a business as it was for our codependent producers . What does this mean in practice ? Rural poverty i . e . starvation , makes people migrate to cities , where they lead miserable lives . So we had to set a fair price that made it worthwhile to farm . Food quality and food safety are sustainability issues – because they impinge directly on human health . Hungry people get ill – especially if they are regularly exposed to pesticides . The production of food has to be safe for the producers . It also has to be safe for consumers . You still regularly find lindane traces in conventional chocolate , despite it being banned in California , New York and throughout Europe because of its proven causative link to breast cancer . The planet has limited resources and we ’ re using them up at an increasing rate . We need food production systems that preserve or augment the soil , increase biodiversity and restore forest cover , not the reverse . Consumers don ’ t want to be part of the problem . They want manufacturers to help them be part of the solution to these problems and to relieve their feelings of despair , pessimism and helplessness over the disappearance of rain forests and indigenous cultures and global warming . Organic farming delivers on all the above – it locks up carbon in the soil to the tune of 1 tonne per hectare per year , it stops erosion , it reduces greenhouse gas output , it eliminates pollution and it restores biodiversity . You get forest canopy into the bargain . Eventually the shade trees provide a secondary income that , over a 30 year period , can dwarf the income from cacao , especially if you grow mahogany or red cedar . TOLEDO CACAO GROWERS ASSOCIATIONWe worked out a new deal for a new product concept - MAYA GOLD - and made an offer to the TCGA . 1 . A five year rolling contract to be our primary supplier of organically grown cacao for use in Maya Gold chocolate , paying $ 1 . 75 per pound 2 . We helped them to obtain organic certification , a valuable asset in the Northern European market . Even if we fell by the wayside , this would still stand them in good stead with other purchasers . 3 . We advanced them $ 20000 in cash so that the farmer members were guaranteed ‘ spot cash ’ for the cacao they brought in . 4 . We trained key coop members in management accounting , correct fermentation and quality control to ensure the best quality cacao . A true quality chocolate cannot be made with just any old beans , especially a 70 % cocoa mass product . The deal was agreed and signed . Some British and UN aid workers there advised the Maya strongly against going ahead with us and particularly against going organic , which they said would be a disaster . However , we were offering 3 times the price , reduced chemical input costs and cash up front , so for the Maya it was a no brainer . The Soil Association inspection was a success . We also discovered that Big Falls Plantation , a large citrus plantation owned by the Commonwealth Development Corporation and controlled by the Department for International Development , had 70 acres of highly productive cacao which they found uneconomic to harvest . The manager had allowed a local women ’ s cooperative , the Poyonaam Women ’ s Group ( Poyonaam = People of the Earth ) , to harvest the cacao , which they had done profitably in 1993 . POYONAAM WOMENS GROUPBut the CDC were talking about clearing it to plant grapefruit . We begged them to hold off and they referred me to their London HQ , but agreed to let the women take off the 1994 crop . We saw this as a great element in the story we had to tell as the leader of the women , Juanita Chee , was a charismatic and dynamic individual . Things went well , from the producer point of view . The quantity and value of the cacao increased . Gross area income from cacao in 1993 of $ 11000 has grown by more than ten times and is now rising even more quickly . How did we do it ? What made Maya Gold a success ? Before we discussed anything with the TCGA , we discussed the Maya Gold concept with Sainsbury ’ s . They liked the idea and agreed to stock the product for six months when it was ready . THE FAIRTRADE MARKWe also sought and gained Fairtrade Mark certification . The Fairtrade Foundation had been brought into existence by organisations such as Oxfam , Christian Aid , and the Women ’ s Institutes to provide an independent third party consumer guarantee that a Third World product was genuinely traded according to internationally agreed fair trade principles . Maya Gold was the first product to bear the Mark . Various companies had looked at it and dismissed it as impractical . We took one look at the criteria – there was nothing there that we hadn ’ t already done . MAYA GOLDMaya Gold was launched on March 7 1994 at a press conference at the Oxfam stand at the BBC Good Food Show in London . The same day BBC Newsround sent a film crew to Belize and came back with footage of Maya villagers harvesting cacao , and of their kids sitting licking their lips over the very first bars of Maya Gold , which we had given the film crew to take to Belize with them . The several minutes of footage was on the afternoon and evening television news . It even made it onto Welsh language TV and CNN picked up on it and told the story worldwide . Young Methodists did an Olympic style run for fair trade , carrying a torch in relays between various English towns , haranguing supermarkets and shops to stock our product . The senior confectionery buyer at Tesco – our biggest supermarket chain , phoned up to ask “ Here , what ’ s this product all these vicars are calling me up about ? You better come in and see me . ” GREEN & BLACK ’ SWe faced a few setbacks in Belize . Regrettably , the CDC owned Big Falls Plantation decided to bulldoze the cacao , thereby depriving the Poyonaam women of a potential $ 22000 per year income . My efforts on behalf of the Poyonaam women had been rebuffed and grapefruit was planted in the place of mature cacao . It turned out to be a lousy call on their part as grapefruit prices collapsed just as their new trees reached maturity . The WHO malaria control programme in the district had a policy of spraying with DDT any houses and areas where malaria had been notified , and this posed a risk of contamination organic cacao . A few cases of contamination could have led to the loss of organic certification for the whole project . After much pressure from us , the health workers agreed to give 2 weeks ’ notice of their intention to spray so that villagers could get their cocoa sacks , as well as their children and animals , out of the way before the sprayers come . Now the Maya have persuaded them to stop spraying altogether - malaria is not a problem – and DDT poisoning is a thing of the past . There have been considerable unforeseen social as well as economic gains . The production of cacao strengthens the position of women . Unlike rice , the important part of cacao production is the post - harvest processing . This is where women play a key role . The men ’ s role tends to be to plant , prune , harvest and bring the pods back to the village . The fermentation of the beans takes place in boxes next to the village houses and takes five days . once the cacao is fermented , it must be dried in the sun , turned as needed , and brought in if it starts to rain . Women control both these processing operations . The result is that they get their hands on the cash generated by cacao , and this share in the wealth confers domestic and community power . Too often the cash from a crop of rice doesn ’ t find its way into the family budget - the man may spend it on beer or tools or a hybrid pig and enough Purina Chow to fatten it up . Secondary education in Belize is free , but the nearest high school is in Punta Gorda town , 20 miles from the villages in the Maya Mountains . With only 2 busses a week , students had to board with families in Punta Gorda , at a significant cost . As a result of increased cacao income , many more students started going to high school , and there were so many doing so that a bus service was instituted on a daily basis to take them to school and back . Secondary education has increased from 10 % of the kids to more than 70 %. Migratory bird populations have increased dramatically , reflecting increased forest cover and reduced pesticide residues . The Audubon Society and Flora and Fauna International have both recognised this and have asked us to extend the project into nature reserves that they control in Belize . The TCGA has also become one of the main uniting forces in a community where there are two distinct cultural and language groups : the Kekchi Maya and their neighbours the Mopan Maya . Within the TCGA there is one shared goal - to sell Green & Black ’ s as much good quality cacao as possible and to earn as much money as they can for their membership . As with most free commercial activity , racial and religious considerations take second place to devotion to the almighty dollar . The leaders of the TCGA have become respected figures in their local communities , consulting to ensure that the Maya speak with one voice on matters where their community has hitherto often been weak and divided . A few years ago a corrupt government natural resources minister took a bribe to permit a Taiwanese logging company to extract timber from 250 , 000 acres of pristine forest in the Maya Mountains . The strength of collaboration on the cacao project meant that the Kekchi and Mopan could not be set against each other on the logging proposal and they united successfully , under the cacao project leadership , to defeat it . The rain forest has been saved . THE GROWERS Not all the growers are Maya . There are white Americans and blacks of African origin and East Asians who are members of the coop . For them all it is a novel experience to work in situations where the Maya are in charge . The Maya , like most native Americans , were seen as the bottom of the pack . Now they are setting up outlying buying depots in non - Maya regions and impress everyone with their competence , confidence and their efficient handling of cocoa beans and money . HERBICIDE FREE RIVERS Every Maya village is sited on a river , which serves as bath and laundry . Skin diseases , rashes and blisters are a thing of the past now that chemical use has been abandoned . Even rice growers have now developed chemical free methods of production . THE PROCESSORS The women keep an eye on the fermentation , which takes place under the thatched eaves of village houses and of the drying , which takes place on groundsheets outside the houses . Fermentation of cocoa beans is a sophisticated art – the subtle variations between different batches are part of what gives complexity and character to our chocolate . GREEN & BLACK ’ S ORGANICAs I mentioned earlier , in 1993 the UK development aid people in Belize advised the growers not to go organic and not to sign our contract . They have now had a good rethink on this policy . Last year they UK Government ’ s Department for International Development gave us a £ 240 , 000 grant to help develop even more organic cocoa production in Belize . Fauna and Flora International have supported the growers cooperative with training and computers . A Dutch charity gave them a further £ 40000 to develop tree nurseries . We chipped in £ 240 , 000 of our own money for the project . The result - 100 , 000 new cacao trees planted since last October , plus double that number as shade trees to form a future rain forest canopy and wildlife habitat . 550 , 000 seedlings in the nurseries , ready to be planted out in the next few years . TUBE CARD EXECUTIONSLast year we decided it was time to advertise , at least in London , where we had the distribution and the consumer profile that justified a spend . So in March and October last year and last March we spent about £ 400 , 000 on a Londonwide advertising campaign , focusing on the Underground . We had 2 ad cards in every carriage of every train in the system , as well as cross track posters and some saturation escalator posters . Somehow we managed to seem better than our competitors - without seeming holier than thou , pious or condescending . LONDON UNDERGROUND DISCOVERY THEMEAgain , we emphasise the difference without being too blatant . The woman has just tasted Green & Black ’ s for the first time – drops her shopping , the world drifts by as she is swallowed up in the experience . Later on she ’ ll read the wrapper more closely and discover its organic , fairtrade and ethical virtues , right now she ’ s just having a ‘ be here now ’ chocolate moment . Michael Pollan , writing in the New York Times , postulated that chocolate attaches to the same receptors as marijuana , but instead of stimulating them it slows them down . So instead of losing short term memory and being ‘ cool ’ you wallow in short term memory and the emotions they contain and become sensual and sentimental . Hence chocolate ’ s popularity in romantic situations , particularly Valentine ’ s Day . GREEN & BLACK ’ S EVOLUTIONSo where are we now ? In 1999 , as an undercapitalised entrepreneur , I had pretty much gone as far as I could go with our limited financial resources and in the face of the need to become increasingly professional . With Whole Earth and Green & Black ’ s we had a couple of $ 10 million brands but lacked the resources to maximise their growth potential . So when William Kendall , who had just built up and sold the New Covent Garden Soup Company a year earlier , offered to buy a 75 % share in Green & Black ’ s I said yes . With an infusion of new capital and highly motivated top calibre management we have maintained a growth rate of 50 % per annum . Last year we sold off the Whole Earth brand and in Green & Black ’ s alone we now have an $ 80 million brand , but expect it to double again in the next two years . Several of our new management team were INSEAD graduates and all had blue chip backgrounds such as Glaxo , KPMG , Tesco and United Biscuits . The new team got stuck right into the ethical core of the business from day one . In fact they joined the company precisely because they wanted to work in an ethical environment but also had normal healthy professional ambitions and saw joining us as a strategic career move . In the war for talent to get the best employees , what would well have been a negative a few years earlier was an extra magnet . More recently we have attracted key sales people from Lindt , our main competitor in the premium chocolate market – these are sales people who know how to sell chocolate and could see which way the wind is blowing . We are also taking off in the USA . In the UK we had first mover advantage which can never be underestimated in achieving a strong market position . However in the US we came into the market late . KEY BRANDSJust over a year ago in the organic market we had climbed into 5 th place behind Newman ’ s Own – whose message is they give their profits to charity , Endangered Species , who give a percentage of sales to wildlife charities , Sharffenberger – based in Berkeley and very foodie and hip , and Chocolove who major on being Belgian and luxurious . That was then . CHOCOLATE CANDY KEY BRANDSWith 380 % year on year growth we ’ ve moved up the charts . In the 4 weeks to the end of February we were the Number 2 brand , just behind Newman ’ s Own . TOP TEN SKUSOur latest research from SPINS , the natural sector version of Neilsen ’ s shows that with only 40 % penetration , compared to 90 % for Newmans and Endangered Species , in the 4 week period ending February 21 st this year our dark chocolate was the best selling single product . Last month we went into all branches of Wild Oats , a 100 - supermarket natural food chain – so I can say with some confidence that we are now America ’ s leading organic chocolate brand – and we still have barely 50 % market penetration . It ’ s also worth noting here that all the top selling SKUs in the US natural foods market are dark chocolate . When you look at the chocolate market overall – 90 % of all chocolate sold is milk chocolate . In the natural and organic market consumers are well ensconced at the gourmet , quality , intense flavour end of the spectrum . RANGE SHOTLast year Cadbury Schweppes bought the shares of the business . have been committed to supporting the Green & Black ' s principles in respect of organics , fair trade and corporate social responsibility . Some people have said that ultimately we will have engineered a sort of reverse take over , on a cultural level , of the world ’ s largest confectionery company . Remember that they were founded on the Quaker belief that a steaming cup of cocoa would help wean the working classes off beer and gin . There are still no pubs in Bournville , the town they built as their corporate HQ , manufacturing base and for housing their workers ! When you ’ re doing something good it ’ s best not to brag about it – much better if you can just let your reputation precede you . There are plenty of people in the social responsibility business who can give you a good reference , starting with certifying NGOs such as the Soil Association , the Fairtrade Foundation , the Forestry Stewardship Council and Ethical Consumers Association . Government initiatives , like the failing European Eco Label , don ’ t inspire consumer trust . NGOs do . The press never tire of a good story about how you can do good and do well at the same time . 1994 was the 10 th anniversary of Maya Gold and of the Fairtrade Foundation . During March we had 100 s of volunteers in shops up and down the country sampling our Maya Gold chocolate , giving their time freely to support our work . The press coverage we ’ ve had has been extraordinary and is generating even more . For those among you who were in Britain and saw this barrage of publicity - I hope you agree that , like our chocolate , it was all done in the very best possible taste . The Observer Food Monthly sent Andrew Purvis to Belize to see how things were going and his report is at : http : / / observer . guardian . co . uk / foodmonthly / story / 0 , , 1781908 , 00 . htmlVisit the Green & Black ' s web site at : www . greenandblacks . com Back to Top