Are they going to evict Yoda?

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I was just out at Scharffenberger's factory in Berkeley last month. The tour guide said that he was not only happy to report that Hershey's was leaving the control of the operation pretty much alone where they said they would, but that they were also extremely pleased to have the Hershey bank account and helpful staff with them, since the day after they were bought, one of the machines broke down. Hershey's folks found the spare parts AND an extra machine within 24 hours.

I got the impression that they were more used to having to bobby pin machines together and pray. :)

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The sell out of independent companies to big business continues. Hershey has a record of slavery and child labor on its cocoa plantations. Buying Dagoba gives Hershey a PR repair factor. Dagoba was our only chocolate in our upscale cafe in the Hamptons. We pulled all Dagoba from the shelf as this buyout goes against our mission - the SlowFood mission along with a mission to not support corporate abuses. This purchase is greenwashing. The trust level with Dagoba was eroded earlier this year due to recalls of Dagoba product because of levels of toxins in chocolates. We never did find out what they did to discover or amend this situation. Now that they are in the corporate fold we will never be told the truth. Deplorable.

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(full disclosure: our worker cooperative, www.equalexchange.coop, has a line of organic, Fair Trade Certified chocolate that competes with Dagoba and Green & Black)

Another concern regarding this buyout--and when other small progressive companies are bought--is how it usually gags the leadership of the bought company from speaking out on important issues when it would discomfort the new corporate master.

For example, I''ve just finished reading a powerful book titled Bitter Chocolate (by Carole Off), that really pulls back the curtain on cocoa/chocolate industry. It makes a powerful case of why we can't trust either the big corporations nor some of the key govt's (especially that of the Ivory Coast).

Often it has been up to the small mission driven companies to spread the word about this kind of thing. Now that we have this evidence do you think Dagoba or Green & Black (bought last year by Cadbury-Schweppes) will use their new resources to get the word out? I doubt it. Heshey & Cadbury aren't likely to let their new subsidiaries make the other 98% of their corporations look like criminals.

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I'd like to offer some personal insight into my decision for passing the ownership onto Artisan Confection Co, a subsidiary of Hershey. First, I find it really saddening that people have very little faith in me and the decision made. Judgements are cast from the boat like fishing in the fog. I've always been available for questions... as Bonnie knows. simply call or email me.

For those of you who do know me, you know that I believe in changing from within. I've never been one to sit and bitch and complain and hold a sign protesting about something. If change needs to be made, join it and change it.

We were first approached by Hershey 1.5 years ago. So, this was not a quick decision. We've met with them many, many times and signed the contract on our terms.

I love the world of cacao. I've been involved with Transfair (fair trade certifications) since our inception 5 years ago. I've also been involved with the World Cocoa Foundation. I care about farmer welfare and making a difference at origin; both on the ecological side and also the equity side of the equation. When i first joined the WCF i was a sceptical chocolate company owner who had doubts about what the big boys were up to. I was taken aback when i attended my first conference. The programs that have been and are in place are quite amazing. I agree that they have a major PR issue, as the WCF is not getting the word out to the public about what is happening at origin. This will be changing soon. My point on this paragraph; a lot of these larger chocolate companies are doing amazing things in origin countries. Things that are way beyond what Dagoba could have ever done on our own.

For those of us who are in the chocolate industry, I urge us to be as involved as possible and work with the big boys to rectifiy the issues that exist, instead of creating a divide by the voice of accusation. I would urge Equal Exchange to join the WCF and come to the meetings and let your voice be heard and offer solutions to the problems within the arena of the chocolate industry. A couple of Transfair representatives came to the conference in October and I think i can say they were quite impressed. And i know their presence was appreciated by all. The bridge is being created.

The public doesn't realize how complex the web of cocoa supply is. For smaller companies, like Dagoba, Scharffenberger and Equal Exchange it's easy to work directly with the growers, know the source and flow of the cacao, process and produce it in a very controlled chain. I travel to origin many times a year and even on our scale, i realize how difficult it is to control the supply 100%. Cacao is not easy - i don't care what people say. Yet, we do it to the best of our ability.

For these larger companies who are producing millions and millions of pounds, it's much more difficult to control every step of the sourcing. Cacao is grown by MILLIONS and MILLIONS of small independent family farms throughtout the world. And these families are scattered throughout the bush of the rainforests over hundreds and thousands of miles.

The comment was made about the governments. This is a very key component and one that is component that is a very large hurdle in the resolution of equity... especially in the West African nations.

The issues that face the larger industries are known to them. They are making changes. It behooves them to make positive changes. Sustainability in the cacao world is being addressed by both large and small. Yet, changes as grand as these take time... a long time. We're talking about reaching out to millions of people scattered over thousands of miles, around the world. these changes cannot happen overnight or perhaps even within 5 years.

So, my decision to merge with Hershey's, while not easy, was based on my desire and passion to make change in the industry and assist in the transformation. The ethos of Dagoba are here and it's my duty to introduce them to the larger structure of not only Hersheys, but the greater industry that i'm involved with. My employees are committed to making a difference - and i have amazing employees! They get it. They understand that the world is not perfect and we must make compromises in order to achieve greatness for the greater good.

Through our continued growth, impact will be made. Now that we have the wind under our wings to take the company to the next level, Dagoba will be able to reach out to thousands, if not millions more farmers than we could have on our own. It's great to be able to say we work directly with farmers and look at the impact we're having in these 3 communities.... what about all the other farmers though, that we're not working with. It's my desire to work within the structure of the larger chocolate community to make the changes that need to be made. From my experience so far, I am not only optimistic about our ability to work within the structure, but excited!

More can be accomplished thru unification of the chocolate companies, big and small, then thru seperation and accusation.

frederick schilling

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We at Ithaca Fine Chocolates (Art Bars) have always been a fan of Dagoba and wish the best for Fred and the entire Dagoba team.

We agree with Fred's comments that the WCF's recent steps to try and "clean up" the supply chain is a good thing, but the industry as a whole can't hide behind the scale of the problem. The massive social injustices that are pervasive within the cocoa trade is a function of years of neglect.

Let's not forget why Hersey, Nestle, AMD and other corporate entities are now taking these steps - informed consumers. It was the consumer who shaped the market to force these changes - not the good will of the WCF.

There are examples of manufacturers producing at significant scale using purely ethical supply chain practices. How? Not solely through certification (that's certainly part of the equation) but by partnering with supplier co-ops and developing farms and communities to ensure productive and quality yields.

Let's face it. That's a far cry from the, until recently, pervasive practice of cornering the cocoa market, driving down price and getting the best bean at the lowest cost - mostly from brokers/markets disassociated from the growers. That's why they can't trace their source - because for the most part, they didn't care to in the past.

Those who did care, have no problems finding their growers and knowing their source.

Fred Schilling will have a positive affect with the newly signed agreement with Hersey, but really its the consumer that dictates change. The folks at Hersey are smart. They will go with the demand and bring their shareholder value. This is for certain.

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It would be a crying shame if Hershey's would change the organic quality of Dagoba. Anyway, it wouldn't make sense to do that since that's what Daoba's known for. I think it's a good thing for Dagoba and Dagoba consumers. If they will not make any drastic changes with Dagoba and what it stands for, then the acquisition can only bring positive results. More Dagoba for everyone!

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My small-time (five outlets, but growing) coffee operation in the Pacific Northwest wants to begin offering premium-grade chocolate at checkout. We originally thought Scharffen Berger, but our customers let us know they'd sold out to Hershey's, and wouldn't buy it. So, we thought we'd offer local favorite Dagoba. Oh well. Given the reactions we've heard already, we know the negative blowback we'd get.

I can't fault Frederick Schilling for wanting to sell out. He built something, wants an easy life, and has it now (though I could do without his rationalizations for his decision ... just admit you wanted the money, bud). But Hershey's can say they won't change anything until their P.R. company is paid to turn blue in the face (and issue a press release over it), and up in the Pacific Northwest, we'll still look at ... who was that again? Ben'N'George ... ? ... Ben and ... oh yeah, those good ol' hippies who sold out to Nestle, and their ice cream tastes like plastic now. No thanks.

Multi-National Corporations are social and economic cancer, homogenizing humanity into "consumers". The people we sell to - in our popular and growing little chain - understand that. Dagoba was good chocolate, but a lot of that was the reputation, and that's gone now. Damn it.

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