Type Subsidiary Website [1] Headquarters London, United Kingdom Parent organization Cadbury | Owner Mondelēz International Founded 1991 Acquisition date May 2005 | |
Products Chocolate, ice cream, biscuits, baking chocolate Founders Josephine Fairley, Craig Sams Profiles | ||
Green & Black's is a British chocolate company founded in 1991. The company produces a range of chocolate bars, ice cream, biscuits and hot chocolate, with its principal manufacturing sites in Canada, Poland, and Italy. Its products are organic and premium-priced. It was bought by Cadbury in 2005, and later became part of Mondelēz International (formerly known as Kraft Foods).
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Founding
Green & Black's was founded in 1991 by the couple Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley, organic food pioneer and journalist respectively. The name was derived from a wordplay — "Green" standing for the environmental concerns of the founders, and "Black" for the high cocoa solids chocolate they wished to provide. In 1994, the company began purchasing Fairtrade cocoa from Maya farmers in Belize for the Maya Gold chocolate bar, and was awarded the Worldaware Business Award in 1994 for good business practice, as well as the UK's first Fairtrade mark. The company has a small office in Punta Gorda, Belize.
Ownership changes and fairtrade
In May 2005, Cadbury Schweppes (latterly Cadbury plc) bought Green & Black's for an undisclosed sum, estimated to be around £20m. Cadbury pledged to run the company as a separate business.
Green & Black's Australia chocolate announced that it would convert 90% of its range to Fairtrade by the end of 2010, and its entire range by 2011.
On 19 January 2010, Cadbury was taken over by Kraft Foods Inc, Cadbury was valued at £11.5 billion ($19.5 billion US).
In October 2012, Kraft Foods Inc 2012 became Mondelēz International and part of its operation was starbursted as Kraft Foods Group, Inc.
Operations
Green & Black's has operations around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other nations.
United States
Green & Black's sells chocolate bars in the United States. They are sold in stores such as Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Walgreens, among other retailers nationwide. They have various chocolate bars, on various flavors such as "Dark 85% Cacao" and "White." All are Fairtrade Certified.
Recalls
On 15 October 2012 Mondelēz Global LLC conducted voluntary U.S. recall of Green & Black’s organic peanut and sea salt milk chocolate bar due to possible health risk.