Fairtrade – food for thought
A number of companies are extending their Fairtrade products to include spices, cookies, chocolate, muffins and a range of other snacks, as well as tea and coffee.
See also our recent feature on Fairtrade here, which coincides with Fairtrade fortnight, running from 22 February to 7 March.
1. SPICE IT UP
Steenbergs Organic was the first company to launch spices carrying the Fairtrade Mark back in 2005 and has now launched three new spices - organic Fairtrade curry powder, organic Fairtrade garam masala and organic Fairtrade cardamom pods.
They join the other organic Fairtrade spices in the Steenbergs Fairtrade range which includes turmeric, ginger, white peppercorns, four-colour pepper, black peppercorns, cinnamon powder, cinnamon sticks/quills, cloves, mulling wine spice mix and mixed spice.
The company sources direct from organic and Fairtrade growers in nine countries and 20 projects, giving it almost 200 individual lines as well as a further 200 blends.
Other Steenbergs products carrying the Fairtrade Mark include mulling spice sachets, vanilla extract, six flavoured sugars - cinnamon, rose, lavender, vanilla, mulling wine and lemon - bagged tea - black, known as Peace tea, and green - and loose leaf Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Christmas Chai and Green Chai teas.
To buy it, callSteenbergs Organic01765 640088
2. SNACK ATTACK
Independent fair and ethically traded beverage and snack supplier Peros has combined indulgent quality with Fairtrade credentials in a new range of cookies, the latest addition to the recently launched One World bakery selection.
Designed as a complement to hot beverages or as a standalone snack, the One World cookie range includes Triple Chocolate Chip, Fruit, Ginger and Chocolate Chip. Produced in the UK by specialist artisan bakers, the range uses Fairtrade ingredients from around the world, including sugar, chocolate and fruit.
All the cookies are wrapped as twin packs in distinctive, eye-catching packaging. Point-of-sale material and display stands are available for the range to help increase sales of impulse purchases.
Peros was established in 2000 and offers a comprehensive range of more than 300 Fairtrade, organic and ethically traded products, available across the UK for a next-day delivery.
To buy it, callPeros
01494 436426
3. TASTES DIVINE
A 45g Butterscotch Milk Chocolate bar is the latest creation from Divine Chocolate, the only Fairtrade chocolate company co-owned by cocoa farmers. Kuapa Kokoo is a co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, who benefit not only from the Fairtrade premium on the sale of their beans, but also receive a 45% share of Divine's distributable profits, giving them more economic stability as well as the increased influence in the cocoa industry that company ownership brings.
Made with Divine's creamy milk chocolate and studded with crunchy toffee pieces, the new addition to the snack-sized range contains no artificial flavourings or preservatives, is suitable for vegetarians and is kosher certified.
Divine chocolate is made from cocoa nurtured and hand-picked by farmers in Ghana. The cocoa trees grow in the shade of the tropical rainforest and the beans are slowly fermented and dried in the sun to produce the finest flavour.
To buy it, callDivine Chocolate
020 7378 6550
4. NEW-LOOK COOKIES
A fruit, chocolate and nut variant has joined Traidcraft's Fairtrade cookie range and, while still retaining imagery of where the key ingredients are sourced, the packaging has been redesigned to give it a fresh new look as well as saving space on shelves to enable more efficient merchandising.
The new space-saving pack format means that three new packs can fit in the space of one old one and also now includes GDA information, enabling consumers to make a more informed choice.
The range is available in three flavours all made from high-quality Fairtrade ingredients: Stem Ginger, spiced with stem ginger pieces from India; Double Chocolate Chunk, with whole chunks of Fairtrade dark chocolate; and now Fruit, Chocolate and Nut, with plump raisins from South Africa, where the Fairtrade premium has paid for water pumps, enabled the farmers to invest in new farming equipment and provided schoolbags for the children at four primary schools on the islands.
The cookies are sold in boxes of eight 200g packs - 180g packs for fruit, chocolate and nut cookies. The counter display unit option remains as 24 x 44g in twin pack format.
To buy it, callTraidcraft
0191-491 0591
5. MALAWI MUFFINS
A range of muffins, bars and sweets have been produced by a new company dedicated to Fairtrade - Wish 4 Fair Trade - set up by businessman Alan Clayton after a competition win took him to Malawi to visit Fairtrade-certified sugar farmers.
The new ranges are muffins with a sauce filling: Toffee, with toffee fudge pieces; Blueberry, with real blueberries; Chocolate, with real chocolate pieces; and Lemon, with real lemon.
Handmade bars using butter and with no artificial colours, flavours, E numbers or preservatives: Honey & Fruit Flapjack; Traditional Oat Flapjack; Millionaire's Shortbread; Chocolate Brownie; Fruity Nut Seed Bar; and Rich Fruit Cake.
Plus sweets: Calypso Fruit Mix; Crumbly Mint Balls; Blackcurrant & Liquorice; Vanilla Fudge; Toffee Assortment; and a 400g Fudge & Toffee Assortment.
The Kasinthula sugar growers co-operative has changed the lives of nearly 300 farmers, their families and their communities in southern Malawi .
To buy it, callWish 4 Fair Trade00 35 321 477 3273
6. COFFEE INCENTIVES
Beverage systems supplier Café du Monde has been a distributor of Fairtrade coffees for the past seven years and offers a broad range, including a certified Fairtrade blend which it packs in portions to deliver a consistent brew using the company's free loan cafetière system. Also available is a Fairtrade blend of coffee beans for espresso use.
With an offer timed to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight, Café du Monde is hoping to encourage its customers to sample Fairtrade products and, perhaps in future, include them on their menus, by giving a four-cup chrome cafetière worth £29.95 free with every two cases of Fairtrade singles coffee portion packed specifically for cafetière use. Alternatively, for espresso customers, Café du Monde is giving free half a case of Fairtrade coffee beans , equivalent to 285 cups, with every two cases purchased.
The cafetière Fairtrade coffees are sourced from the Empresa Cooperativa del Sur Cauca and the Cafecoop RL in Colombia and Corsica respectively. For the espresso, Brazilian beans from the Coocafe Cooperative in Minas Crerais region is added.
The company's portfolio includes cafetière systems, espresso coffee systems, bulk brew and bedroom beverage service.
To buy it, callCafé du Monde
01322 284804
7. HAVE A BREAK
Nestlé sells more Kit Kats in the UK than anywhere else in the world with one billion Kit Kat bars sold in the UK each year, and the bestselling chocolate biscuit is now certified Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland.
This move follows the October 2009 launch of Nestlé's global Cocoa Plan which represents a £65m investment over the next 10 years in programmes to address the key economic, social and environmental issues facing cocoa farming communities.
Focusing predominantly on the Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producing country, the aim of the cocoa plan is to use Nestlé's agricultural and scientific know-how to improve the quality and yield of cocoa plants, offer farmer training and education and improve the social conditions for farmers and their communities.
Fairtrade certification of Kit Kat, made in York, will facilitate long-term direct commitments to cocoa co-operatives, including additional payments for the farmers to invest in community or business development projects of their own choice.
To buy it, callNestlé Professional
0800 742842
8. GOING GREEN
After launching the UK's first Fairtrade Tea in 1994, Clipper has continued to develop its teas sourced from Fairtrade-accredited estates and is now turning all of its green tea Fairtrade.
The company says that green tea is becoming an increasingly popular lifestyle choice for many people owing to its antioxidant properties and refreshing taste, and in choosing Fairtrade, it is helping to alleviate inequality and create opportunities for producers and workers.
The company's extensive range also includes two Everyday Blends, English Breakfast, Earl Grey and Green Tea, Fairtrade instant and ground coffee and Fairtrade and Organic hot chocolate.
The Organic Infusions range, aimed at supporting a healthy lifestyle, include Redbush, Raspberry Leaf and Nettle and Lemon.
To buy it, callClipper Teas
01308 863344
9. LICENSED CHOCOLATE
Whitakers Chocolates has secured its Fairtrade Foundation Licence, allowing it to supply fully-accredited Fairtrade chocolate products to food service businesses such as contract caterers, airlines and hotel groups.
The licence is issued to companies that comply with international Fairtrade standards by sourcing all materials and ingredients from registered Fairtrade companies. Independent physical audits ensure that all bearers of the licence represent the integrity of the Fairtrade Mark.
Whitakers supplies its Neapolitan chocolate squares to the food service sector, as well as selection boxes of after dinner chocolates under the Whitakers brand and under wholesalers' own labels.
To buy it, callWhitakers Chocolates
01756 791317
10. REDUCED SPICES
Delice de France has no doubt that the Fairtrade Mark is increasingly important and respected by British consumers but is mindful that the downturn in the economic climate is still affecting consumers and making them increasingly budget conscious.
The company has, therefore, reduced the prices of its Fairtrade Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Fingers and Fairtrade Chocolate Chunk Cookies so that caterers can offer their customers peace of mind while still keeping an eye on their budget.
Both the 60g Fairtrade Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Finger and the 80g Fairtrade Chocolate Chunk Cookie are packed 40 to a case and come wrapped ready to thaw and serve.
Fairtrade display boxes are available free-on-loan to help operators drive their sales by displaying the Fairtrade products on counters and by the till.
To buy it, callDelice de France020 8917 9600
11. EXTENSIVE CHOICE
Rombouts Coffee suggests that caterers who don't currently offer their customers Fairtrade products use Fairtrade Fortnight as an opportunity to trial Fairtrade items and says that, by offering a more extensive choice, they can guarantee their beverage menu appeals to more customers.
The company offers a range of Fairtrade products, including individual one-cup filter coffees - all of which are 100% Fairtrade- Fairtrade pour & serve coffees, 100% Arabica Fairtrade whole roasted beans, Fairtrade cafetière three-cup portion sachets and Fairtrade 123 Spresso Pods.
Fairtrade brown and white sugar sticks are also available to complete the coffee offering.
To buy it, call
Rombouts Coffee GB 0845 604 0188
