We all drool over chocolates. But how many of us place this innocent-looking, comfort-inducing, mood-enhancing chocolate under scrutiny? It will leave a bitter aftertaste, as you get to know that the conventionally produced chocolates are one of the significant contributors to environmental deterioration. Additionally, the amount of plastic used in the packaging often goes unnoticed by the naked eye. Ironically, the soil, water bodies, and aquatic life pay the price.
Every year, July 7 marks World Chocolate Day. To celebrate it, as you indulge in chocolate, ensure it is as delightful to the environment as it is to you. Wondering how? L Nitin Chordia has the answers. He is the Co-Founder of Kocoatrait, the world’s first sustainable luxury, zero waste, planet-friendly (plastic & paper-free) vegan, eco-friendly, sustainable bean-to-bar chocolate brand.
“One of our biggest achievements so far is preventing 200+ kgs of single-use plastic from polluting landfills. This is one of the measures of our successful efforts toward saving the planet. It is gratifying and feels we are on the right path,” Nitin says while talking to LifeBeyondNumbers.
The Trigger
Nitin has immense love for beaches, oceans, and forests. In 2019, a deep-sea diver found candy wrappers at the bottom of the sea. This news was disturbing for Nitin and appeared as the gravest problem area. He decided to get a solution. From the beginning of 2018, he and Poonam Chordia (India’s 1st certified woman chocolate taster), were conceptualizing the idea of Kocoatrait. In January 2019, the brand was launched at a specialty chocolate show in Amsterdam.
“Everyone loves chocolates and buys impulsively. The impact of chocolate wrappers and chocolate as a product is quite alarming on the environment. Hence, we decided to establish a sustainable operation and product.”
Nitin is India’s first certified chocolate taster. He says the contribution and value addition that chocolate tasters can make to the industry is invaluable in the product development (elimination included) cycle. The challenge is to pace and space the consumption. It is about following a process; once it is followed/managed, chocolate tasting is an exciting role.
An attitude to look at any challenge as an opportunity has helped the brand to solve problems. Thus, they didn’t really face any hiccups initially. The traditional challenges of transportation, packaging, and increasing input costs are all negated as the priority has been saving the planet.
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Kocoatrait has been taking extensive steps to ensure the chocolates are environment-friendly and sustainable.
“Right from the cocoa farm to the final chocolate bar, we do our best to minimize the impact on the planet.“
The Process
Nitin talks in length about the initiatives. It begins with identifying, buying, and using cacao only from farms that have not been deforested for growing cacao, ones that use multi-cropping to preserve biodiversity, and those that do not use chemical farming methods. It assists Indian cacao farmers in improving their post-harvest practices (fermentation/drying) to enhance cacao’s value and helps them sell at higher prices. Such steps support their livelihood and reduce their need to use chemical inputs. It hosts tasting sessions to educate Indian audiences to understand why they should pay more for a chocolate bar and ensure farmers get reasonably well-compensated while they consume lesser, thus being sustainable.
“We have been training farmers and other entrepreneurs on making sustainable bean-to-bar chocolate at Cocoashala, India’s 1st bean to bar chocolate institute. This helps India to create sustainable chocolate makers.“
Kocoatrait has also been contributing to the circular economy. The chocolate wrappers are upcycled from the cocoa husk and reclaimed cotton (both usually end up in landfills). The brand has optimized the wastage in its wrapper production process and selected a mold of a specific dimension to ensure waste reduction. It doesn’t enclose a smaller chocolate bar in a large wrapper to make the chocolate look bigger. Its Manufacturer Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program ensures giving the consumer an option to return the brand’s chocolate wrappers to further decrease landfills.
“We use only water-based inks to print on our wrappers. We also print on the wrapper’s inside to ensure that we encourage reuse. Only organically grown and real ingredients are used, even for adding flavors (like cardamom, ginger, black pepper, coffee etc.). We do not use flavor oils (like orange and mint). Since LPG is a non-renewable resource, we don’t use it. Instead, energy-efficient electricity-based air roasters roast our cocoa. The distances to source the ingredients are cut to minimize carbon footprints. Our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard and are reusable (with 5 reuses). Even the box sizes are optimized. In chocolate production, only low energy equipment is used.”
Kocoatrait – What’s Next
Nitin has no qualms about accepting that there are a few areas to improve, and he and his team are working on them.
Firstly, it is about better tamper-proofing the chocolates (without tearing the wrappers). Next is a reverse logistics program to give the conscious consumer an option to return the aluminum boxes, wrappers, or cardboard boxes. It has updated this as of December 2021 and follows an extended Producer Responsibility Program wherein it reuses and upcycles returned wrappers.
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The brand is also on the path to stop its current usage of thin plastic cello tapes to stick the courier bills on top of the cartons. A few herbs used in its Sukku chocolates are not organically-grown. Thus, it doesn’t mention them as organic in the ingredient list. Going by the percentage usage, it is insignificant. Nevertheless, sourcing organic herbs are on the agenda.
At present, its three products aren’t vegan. They contain A2 milk, which is considered more flavorful. The brand procures them from self-certified cruelty-free farms. However, it aims to discontinue these variants sooner than later. It also plans to involve in cocoa farmers’ overall well-being.
Another mission is to contribute to increasing the biodiversity of the cocoa farm.
Due to the tropical climate, there is a compulsion to use gel ice packs (protect the chocolates from melting) that are reusable and non-toxic but are packed in plastic. Research and attempts are on to find alternates.
Kocoatrait also commits to reducing wastage while die-cutting the upcycled material to less than 16%. At present, it uses paper made from agro-waste to print documents and shipping labels. Its e-commerce shipping boxes are now reusable and made from recycled paper. Efforts are on to ensure that no tree is cut at any level to run its business.
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In Kocoatrait’s future plans, Nitin includes enhanced commitments and investments toward climate change and measures to mitigate the harm that cacao and chocolate inflict on the environment. As a pragmatic business owner, he believes that his or any other brand can’t change consumer habits completely. A conscious consumer researches and finds solutions.
“We spend 0$ on paid advertising, social media promotions or paid PR. We have a transparent page on our website, and our communication on the chocolate bar is quite straightforward. It reads bold and clear that “This chocolate is for conscious consumers” on the front of the pack. This is the only effort we invest into sensitizing people about our products.”
For all chocolate lovers, Nitin has a message:
“Consumers have immense power. They can save Earth by making the right consumption choices. So as consumers, be more conscious of the ingredients and the overall impact the products leave on the environment. Such shifts can make our planet a better place to live in because there is no planet B!“