Comfort food sales and online food purchasing have been on the rise amid Covid 19. According to Food Navigator USA, packaged food and beverage companies are seeing suring sales, and CSP Daily News reports that chocolate candy alone went up 21.1%, and non-chocolate candy is up 14.4%. As you reach for the things in life that bring you joy, consider a social-values approach with fairtrade goods from socially-conscious companies. A fair trade certification means that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed upon fair trade terms where growers have received a fair price for their produce and that a portion of the purchase price will be used to further economic development.
Here are six delicious candies that take an ethical approach:
Divine Chocolate Everyday Bars
Divine Chocolate is driven by a social mission: to bring people together using the amazing power of chocolate to delight and engage, creating dignified trading relations that empower both producers and consumers. Divine takes their fairtrade values so seriously that they have a page on their website dedicated to the farmers that cultivate their ingredients.
Among the varieties of deliciously rich dark chocolate, seriously smooth milk chocolate, and creamy white chocolate, Divine just launched a line of Crispy Thins: puffed rice enrobed in chocolate – totes to Divine for such an inventive vegan option!
Five North
Five North takes an innovative approach to packaging and presentation of their chocolates. An example is their best-selling flavor, Sea Salt Pistachio, where the 72% dark chocolate is in a mini-square gift box with bits of organic pistachio inside, plus a hint of sea salt. Five North Chocolate snacks are plant-based, low in sugar, and made with Fairtrade Certified cacao. Five North sources only fair trade certified cacao to support farmers in the developing world and invest back in cacao farming communities. They are also the first brand to have the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce seal on their packaging!
Wholesome
Wholesome makes candy, sweeteners, honey, sugar, and more. These delicious treats come from their farmers and beekeepers, all at fair price standards, sustainably grown and responsibly harvested. An organic version of a classic candy favorite, Wholesome Organic Fruit Chews are bursting with natural fruit flavor. These chewy candies are made with organic cane sugar and use vegetable juice for color. They’re also free from gluten, dairy, nuts and high fructose corn syrup. Each purchase also helps support fair trade farming communities in other countries.
UNREAL
When Nicky and Kristopher Bronner were kids their candy consumption was thwarted by their parents’ desire to keep them sugar-free. So, after dreaming about making chocolate candies that tasted awesome, but without the sugar, they tried thousands of recipes to get it right, and when they did get it right they created UNREAL. The Milk Chocolate Gems from UNREAL are made with fair trade, non-GMO ingredients that are naturally colored with vegetables and with nothing artificial. These tasty gems are also kosher and vegetarian. The taste may be UNREAL, but we can assure you the ingredients are all-real and all good! UNREAL is on a mission to change the world, one snack at a time. All UNREAL products are made with Fair Trade certified chocolate.
Organic Ocho Candy
OCHO Organic states “We believe that organic can be and should be delicious. We believe candy bars should be beautiful inside and out. We believe old school candy bars should be made with new school common sense-keep the ingredients real and the artificial out. We believe in saying what we mean and making what we say. We believe in democratizing our candy bars-everyone deserves to enjoy organic candy at a good value.” Not only do we love their high standards, but we also love their chocolate. The sweet, creamy organic coconut center of Organic OCHO Coconut Minis is covered in rich organic dark chocolate. At OCHO, they make their own small-batch coconut filling with fresh organic coconut flakes, cane sugar, and vanilla extract. It’s no wonder this has become their absolute best-seller. All of the chocolate used to make OCHO Candy products is certified organic and fair trade and complies with fair trade criteria.