Echoes in an Empty Room: the UKCC & TogetherCocoa | #PSC 202
OVERVIEW: Episode 202 of #PodSaveChocolate takes pause to catch everyone up on the recent updates on the formation announcements of the UK Cocoa Coalition and Together Cocoa. What, you say, there have been updates?
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Episode 202 Overview
It is coming up on three months since the announcement of the formation of the TogetherCocoa Foundation, and it’s been about two months since the announcement of the formation of the UK Cocoa Coalition.
Spoiler Alert: There have been no updates.
How are these two initiatives the same (and different)? What can we deduce about their respective futures? What are their – shared – barriers to success?
Categorizing the (Lack of) Updates
Take your pick:
- Shouting into the void
- Screaming into the abyss
- A cry in the wilderness
- Casting words into the wind
- Whistling in the dark
- A voice lost in the crowd
- Dropping a pebble in the ocean
- Writing messages in sand
- Radio silence
In other words, there have been no updates. Should we be concerned? Surprised?
UKCC’s Objective
The central objective of the UKCC is to push the UK government to (finally) implement Schedule 17 of the 2021 Environment Act – the Forest Risk Commodities regulation – and to align it as closely as possible with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The Players:
Manufacturers
- Barry Callebaut
- Ferrero
- The Hershey Company (the only founding member of both UKCC and TC)
- Tony’s Chocolonely (whose chocolate is made by Barry-Callebaut)
Retailers
- John Lewis Partnership
- M&S (Marks and Spencer Group plc)
- Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd (J Sainsbury plc)
- Waitrose Limited (a subsidiary of John Lewis Partnership)
NGOs
- Fairtrade Foundation
- ICI (International Cocoa Initiative)
- IDH (Initiatief Duurzame Handel, Dutch for “Sustainable Trade Initiative”)
- Rainforest Alliance
- VOICE Network (also involved in the Chocolate Scorecard)
- WWF (World Wildlife Federation) (also involved in the Chocolate Scorecard)
Commentary
Politically, the UKCC claims to be working with the All‑Party Parliamentary Group on Global Deforestation, using a House of Commons launch event to call for rapid commencement of Schedule 17 and explicit alignment with the EUDR’s requirements on deforestation‑free supply chains. Multiple outlets all reference the launch as a coordinated lobbying push; there is nothing more recent than the March 2026 wave of coverage.
TogetherCocoa’s Objective
The member companies position TogetherCocoa as an umbrella for joint “living income” interventions layered on top of their existing proprietary programs, not a replacement for them. TogetherCocoa will focus on collaborative efforts with the Ivorian and Ghanaian governments and other sector actors.
The Players:
- The Hershey Company (the only founding member of both UKCC and TC)
- Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG
- Mars, Inc
- Mondelēz International
- Nestlé S.A.
Commentary
Some outlets that have reported on the initiative suggest that TogetherCocoa is not just about coordination on farmer income; it’s an attempt by the Big 5 to consolidate agenda‑setting power over standards and interventions in West African cocoa, especially in light of EU and UK regulatory shifts.
Why Do I Care? And Why Should You?
Let’s start by asking, “What’s lacking in both announcements and the non-existent follow-up?”
- There is no mention of KPIs.
- There is no mention of funding.
- There is no mention of governance.
- There is no mention of independent oversight.
In other words, there is no transparency.
TogetherCocoa has had about 90 days to tell the industry and the public more about what its plans are; the UKCC has had about 60 days.
We can (and should) use one word to describe these two announcements and the lack of follow-up: Performative.
Why should you care?
If you care about chocolate and cocoa. Really care about real chocolate made with tree-grown cocoa, not “choc-alike” products made with fake cocoa, performative announcements like these should be taken as vague, vacuous signals. Signals that shout into the wind for everyone to hear that nothing good is going to happen.
“Anything that is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without consideration” (with apologies to the late Christopher Hitchens).
No one is obliged to take either the UKCC or TogetherCocoa seriously or provide a refutation supported by evidence when no evidence is given in support of the assertion.
Furthermore, the statements of TogetherCocoa suggest the strong possibility of its members colluding with national governments to sway policy in their favor, against the larger industry’s – and public’s – collective long-term sustainability objectives. All five founding members of TogetherCocoa are among the companies that can be found on the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard, collectively constituting a large percentage of what the Scorecard touts as reflecting more than 90% of all cocoa beans purchased. That’s market power.
Why do I care?
For the past year or so, I have been working to found an organization that fits in the gap between the FCIA and the WCF and, at the same time, engages with the general public.
I have settled on a BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal, which is to increase the percentage of specialty chocolate from about 5% of the market in 2025 to 25% of the market by 2035.
Is the BHAG achievable? I hope so, but to get there, I know that there can be nothing performative about the governance, finances, activities, KPIs, and other organizational fundamentals. I know that the specialty chocolate world is in desperate need of the research that can demonstrate its economic impact at every link in the supply chain. And I know that one reason the sector is not growing as it should is an inability to speak with one voice.
This is why announcements like the UKCC and TogetherCocoa are so frustrating – they make it harder for people like me to promote alternatives. Public attention and funding are diverted by sweet words with no substance, accepted uncritically.
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Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon