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Ombar Chocolate's Social Impact: Fair for Life Certification

We're pretty chuffed about this one... find out why!

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GOOD NEWS ALERT: Ombar have officially been certified by Fair for Life!

For those of you who haven’t heard of it before, Fair for Life is an internationally recognised certification for fair trade and responsible supply chains.

Put simply, Fair for Life makes sure companies are using ingredients that are produced by those with genuine fair trade and socially responsible practices and procedures, which are adhered to all the way to the finished product. They also ensure that all producers and workers who are at a socio-economic disadvantage have access to a wider range of social and economic benefits.

Fair for Life stands out for us as a certification programme a cut above the rest, delving much deeper into the supply chain than most fair trade programmes. This was a factor very important to us when choosing which certification to go with.

Of course, ethical sourcing is nothing new to us here at Ombar. We want to be the best chocolate in the world – from flavour to fairer trade! That means ensuring it tastes absolutely delicious (we think we’ve hit the nail on the head here!), whilst also guaranteeing the ingredients are sustainably sourced and that we’re supporting those in our supply chain from start to finish.

This new certification with Fair for Life cements our on-going commitment to social responsibility, traceability throughout the supply chain and fair trade practices.

The Ombar supply chain

The most important ingredient in Ombar is, you’ve guessed it, cacao! We source our premium, raw cacao from Ecuador; a fine flavoured variety which is indigenous to Ecuador. Remarkably, around 95% of Ecuador's cacao comes from smallholdings - farmers with a few hectares of land that they grow a variety of crops on, including cacao. The farmers harvest the cacao pods and take the beans to an association - like a co-operative - for fermentation and drying.

It’s here we believe we can make the most impact in our cacao supply chain, and so we have our very own team member (Paola) who works directly with the farmers and co-operatives to improve their growing and harvesting practises. Thanks to the work Paola is doing and our direct investment into improved infrastructure, the farmers are able to finesse their techniques, thereby guaranteeing higher quality ingredients. For them, this means security of supply and a higher worth for their crops. A win-win for all!

Ombar founder Richard Turner

Here’s what our founder Richard Turner has to say about our work with the co-operatives in Ecuador and our new Fair for Life certification:

“Our ethos at Ombar is to be empowered, healthy, mindful and bold, and we certainly believe our supply chain should reflect these ideals too. Our cacao is sourced directly from farmers’ co-operatives with whom we work closely to improve quality and infrastructure, enabling farmer’s to charge premium prices for their fair trade cacao. The new certification with Fair for Life is testament to our constant commitment to mission-driven trade as a driving force for positive and sustainable change.”

Every ingredient we use in Ombar chocolate is natural and sustainably sourced, for a delicious and ethical chocolate experience. Find out more on What’s Ombar all about?