Our primary mission is to improve the lives of cocoa farmers in West Africa, and, by creating a farmer-ownership model we have ensured Kuapa Kokoo benefits financially from access to the highest point of the value chain. Introducing manufacturing in Ghana would not bring as much benefit, as well as introducing new financial and environmental restraints on getting the chocolate to market. Milk and other ingredients would have to be imported, and stocks would have to be refrigerated in factories and on ships as chocolate melts instantly in the high temperatures in Ghana, resulting in a product that would be much more expensive for people to buy.
Because of our farmer-owned model we can seek out new ventures and buy from other farmers so they get the Faritrade premium, while Kuapa Kokoo still gets the profit. Divine is using cocoa from the CECAQ-11 in São Tomé, a farmers’ co-operative which was originally made up of 11 farmer village associations and now has 20. The farmers receive the Fairtrade premium on top of the price of the organic cocoa. Divine supports the farmers to develop their co-operative and increase their yield.
Kuapa Kokoo owns a share of Divine Chocolate and receives several income streams from their chocolate company. The first is the income from their cocoa bought at the guaranteed minimum Fairtrade price of $2000 per tonne ($2400 from October 2019), which protects the farmers from the volatility of the market. (When the world price is higher Kuapa Kokoo receives the world price). The second is an additional premium of $200 per tonne ($240 from October 2019), which the cooperative invests in their own projects to improve the farmers' living, health and education standards, and farming productivity, as well as individual volume-related bonuses. And last but certainly not least,as a shareholder in Divine Chocolate, Kuapa Kokoo also receives a part of any distributed profit which the co-operative has used to buy key equipment for all its members.
In addition to the financial benefits and the training, community and farm improvements, and increased income the farmers choose to invest in, Kuapa members benefit in other important ways from owning Divine Chocolate. They have two representatives on the Divine board and are therefore closely involved in the development of the company. Owning a chocolate company gives Kuapa Kokoo farmers a voice in the cocoa industry and a ‘seat at the table’. Through owning their own company cocoa farmers have had unprecedented access to the industry they supply, and members have visited UK and other countries around the world to raise awareness amongst chocolate lovers about their lives and challenges. The Kuapa farmers are very proud that they own a company in the UK and USA, and hearing about how well their business is doing is very motivating and exciting.
All Divine products are suitable for vegetarians.
We have a large selection of vegan friendly chocolate, please check the individual product pages for details.
Due to how our chocolate is manufactured we can’t guarantee they are milk free due to contamination risk.
All our products have a warning saying the products may contain traces of nuts because nuts are handled in the factory where our products are manufactured, so there is a very small risk of cross contamination from the machinery.
Divine has an Organic certified range with cocoa produced by a co-operative of farmers called CECAQ-11 from São Tomé. This range consists of two flavours; 85% Dark Chocolate with Blueberry & Quinoa and 85% Dark Chocolate with Lemon.
Divine's core range is not certified organic because cocoa is very prone to diseases. The diseases can quickly spread and wipe out huge areas of cocoa production, which in turn can seriously endanger the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. As cocoa is vital to the Ghanaian economy, the Ghanaian cocoa board is cautious about introducing organic production. Until enough tests have been done on organically approved pesticides in the Ghanaian context, introducing organic cocoa farming is considered high risk. If and when organic farming is considered safe, Kuapa Kokoo will undoubtedly consider its potential. It is worth noting that as pesticides are too expensive for most Kuapa farmers they rely largely on natural crop protection methods already.
Most of our products’ recipes have been developed without cereals containing gluten however, please ensure you check individual product information prior to consuming.
We do not state any Divine products as gluten-free and some will carry a ‘may contains cereals containing gluten’ warning on the label. This is due to the fact cereals containing gluten are handled in the same factory we produce our products, albeit we try to minimize the risk of cross-contamination unfortunately we cannot guarantee any Divine product as gluten-free.
Please always ensure you check the wrapper.
All our 90g sharing bars, 35g impulse bars, 4.2g mini bars, 80g organic bars and the 150g baking bar are Kosher certified. The K certification symbol is on the packaging but is absent from the current packaging of 3 of the 90g bars which we are looking to rectify.
Our chocolate coins (milk, dark and large) are all Kosher certified and have the OU certification symbol on the packaging.
Please always ensure you check the wrapper.
Divine dark chocolate product recipes are developed without any dairy however, we cannot guarantee these as dairy free and they will all carry a ‘may contains dairy’ warning on the label.
This is due to the fact dairy is handled in the same factory we produce our products, albeit we try to minimise the risk of cross contamination unfortunately we cannot guarantee any Divine product as dairy free.
Our milk and white chocolate products do contain dairy.
We certify the majority of our bars as Halal, which means they do not contain alcohol of any form. We are delighted to announce that all our 35g impulse bars, 80g organic bars, 150g baking bars and most of our 85g sharing bars are Halal certified. However, please note the Dark Chocolate with Raspberry and the Dark Chocolate with Ginger & Orange bars and our Christmas and Easter ranges are not certified Halal.
Divine does not use any palm oil in its chocolate and aims not to use any additional ingredients that contain palm oil. This is for a number of reasons. Rainforests are still being cut down to plant palm oil plantations and we do not want to subscribe to the impact this has on the environment and animal habitats. Divine is also conscious that palm oil is used as a cheap oil alternative in a large percentage of the processed foods we all eat today, and so we choose not to add to that high level of consumption. Lastly, as natural cocoa butter is crucial to the real flavor of chocolate we choose not to substitute it with a fat that adds nothing to the quality and fine taste of our product (which means we are buying as much cocoa as possible from the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo and thereby delivering more Premium to them).
Our delicious chocolate is entirely safe to consume. Divine Chocolate prioritizes food safety and product quality. We analyze our bars on a monthly basis for levels of various microbiological and chemical components including cadmium, aluminum, lead, nickel, and copper. For all of our varieties, Divine Chocolate is fully compliant and exceeds ALL safety and quality standards -- including those cited in the Consumer Reports study.
As a responsible company Divine is conscious of its environmental impact, and we are committed to doing our best to continuously make improvements to reduce it.
We use limited airfreight in our supply chain, and keep up to date with best practice regarding all the materials we use.
Our packaging is reviewed annually with respect to environmental impact. While ensuring our products are all kept protected and delicious, as well as looking lovely and irresistible on shelf, we are constantly looking to reduce and improve our packaging. Latest developments include using only FSC paper and board, removing the cellophane wrapper from the Divine Advent Calendars, cutting down ‘chocolate miles’ in our supply chain, and sourcing almost all our seasonal packaging locally in the UK.
Twin, the NGO that helped to set up Divine, is working with its trading partners in Africa and Latin America, many of whom grow tree crops in tropical rainforests, to help them find ways to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change. Many of these producers are having to cope with increasingly erratic rainfall patterns that are effecting productivity. With support from Twin and local and international experts, these cooperatives are beginning to identify new or rediscover old production practices that can help them adapt to climatic change. In cocoa, for example, farmers can plant more shade trees in order to improve moisture conservation and increase biodiversity. Such tree planting projects are a ‘carbon sink’ and can therefore potentially attract payments from carbon offsetting schemes, which can help fund these important adaptation initiatives and even generate additional income for farmers.
The cocoa used in Divine Chocolate’s core range is not grown on plantations, which may require clearing of rainforest trees, but on individual smallholder farms which have been in farming families for generations.
Cocoa grows best in the shade of the rainforest canopy and the humid environment the rainforest creates is best for the midges that pollinate the cocoa. This is a major reason why the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo are actively conserving the tall forest trees. They are replacing old cocoa trees with new seedlings, and actually planting new hardwood trees.
Divine is committed to preserving the environment, and this is one of the reasons we choose not to use palm oil in any of our products so we do not support the destructive impact palm oil cultivation is having on virgin forest and its wildlife around the world.
At the moment there is not very much organic cocoa coming out of Ghana, and Kuapa Kokoo, the co-operative that owns Divine, is not producing organic cocoa. This is because cocoa is very prone to diseases, which can quickly spread and wipe out huge areas of cocoa production, and in turn seriously endanger the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. As cocoa is vital to the Ghanaian economy, the Ghanaian cocoa board is being cautious about introducing organic production. It is worth noting that, although their cocoa is not certified organic, Kuapa Kokoo farmers rely largely on natural crop protection methods already.
São Tomé was originally a Portuguese colony and, back in 1913, the biggest producer of cocoa in the world. The farmers of São Tomé are now rejuvenating the country’s cocoa industry, and developing a new reputation for excellence, and organic cocoa with a distinctive rich flavour and fruity notes.
Packaged in a new garden-fresh style but with the distinctive gold Divine logo and pattern layout, the new organic range comes in pale card with a colour palette and hand-print design capturing the range’s exotic origins, ingredients, and flavors. The chocolate is wrapped in a clear biodegradable film and we are proud to say that the Divine Organic range packaging is all plastic-free.
