The wonderful story about how Divine came to be
Kuapa Kokoo, a 2,000 strong, farmer-owned co-operative in Ghana, was formed in the early 1990s, with help from Twin Trading, a fair trade company. The farmers would keep the profits, be paid in cash and invest the Fairtrade premiums in social programs. They were soon certified to sell Fairtrade cocoa.
The Day Chocolate Company, was created in the UK, after a vote at Kuapa Kokoo’s AGM, by Twin Trading & Kuapa Kokoo, to produce a mainstream Fairtrade chocolate bar to compete with other brands. It rwas financially supported by The Body Shop, Comic Relief, Christian Aid and DFID. Kuapa Kokoo initially owned 33% of the shares of the company and later when The Body Shop was bought by L’Oriel, its shares were donated to Kuapa Kokoo increasing their share to 45%.
The Divine brand was launched in 1998 by the Day Chocolate Company and Divine chocolate bars were sold in supermarket just seven months later!
