Cocoa. Our unique know-how.

Cocoa is one of the ingredients that we use in some of our most loved products for its remarkable combination of flavour and aroma, therefore we carefully select it and process it.

Experts at cocoa processing.

Once the cocoa beans have been removed from the ripe fruit, we leave them to ferment for a week, usually under banana leaves. This allows the natural flavours and smells to develop. The fermented beans are then shipped to our factories, where they undergo our rigorous quality controls: organoleptic, physical, chemical, microbiological checks. After that, we dry the beans and put them into mill that separates the edible ground nibs from the husk

The fermented beans are then shipped to our factories, where they undergo our rigorous quality controls: organoleptic, physical, chemical, microbiological checks. After that, we dry the beans and put them into mill that separates the edible ground nibs from the husk. 

The ground nibs are roasted to bring out their aroma and colour. Then we grind them into the cocoa mass that is subsequently pressed to separate the cocoa butter from the cocoa "cake". We break the cocoa cake to get the cocoa powder that we use in our recipes. As we roast most of the beans ourselves, we can constantly monitor their fragrance, quality and freshness.

Harvested from tropical climes.

Our cocoa comes mainly from West Africa and South America, where the hot and humid temperature is just perfect for its cultivation. We buy the cocoa beans raw and whole primarily from the main harvest, which has the highest quality.

Our commitment to sustainable cocoa

We are committed to sourcing our cocoa responsibly and have achieved our goal to source all our cocoa beans and chocolate via independently managed sustainability standards like Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, and others.

Supporting Farmers

Cocoa is mainly produced in developing countries by smallholder farmers who face various economic, social, and environmental issues, such as lack of access to resources, limited knowledge of good agricultural practices, and climate change.

Through our Ferrero Farming Values Programme for cocoa, we support farmers in adopting sustainable agricultural practices aimed at increasing cocoa productivity. We also help them to diversify their incomes to reduce poverty and related issues as well as increasing the resilience of their communities.

We also actively support initiatives that have a broader scope than our direct supply-chain and aim at protecting cocoa farming communities and their environment. Since 2008, we have been a member of the International Cocoa Initiative, and since 2005 of the World Cocoa Foundation.

In early 2021, we also partnered with the NGO Save the Children to protect children’s rights and promote education in cocoa growing communities in West Africa.