SUSTAINABLITY
We are committed to changing the narrative of the African chocolate industry. For this reason, we hold tightly to some key operational standards that keep us on the right track.
At every stage of our production chain, we endeavour to facilitate grassroots inclusion. We work directly with local farmers ensuring daily supplying of Dùne chocolate bars.
Our farmers are trained in global best practices of harvesting and processing of Grade 1 Cocoa beans. As they improve the quality of their produce, they are not only increasing their local market value but stand a chance to compete more strongly in the international market.
As bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers, we generate large quantities of organic by-products which are not necessarily waste: primarily cocoa bean shells, which are rich in dietary fibre, protein, nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.
The primary use of all the cocoa bean shells we generate after roasting and winnowing is mulch – to provide topsoil cover and improve soil vitality. These cocoa shells are distributed to our suppliers (cocoa farmers) across South-West Nigeria.
CLEAN COCOA INITIATIVE
We currently work directly with twenty (20) independent cocoa farmers for our Grade 1 Cocoa bean supply.
At these twenty farms, we noticed a few ways we could add value; so, we started our Dùne Clean Cocoa Initiative.
Out of four countries, Nigeria is the third largest cocoa exporter in West Africa. One way to increase the Nigerian cocoa market share is to be more competitive on quality.
Supplying Grade 1 Cocoa isn’t always enough, as other countries can achieve this too. A major problem cocoa farmers face globally is cleanliness and the presence of foreign matter mixed with good otherwise beans.
Cocoa processors end up having to incur additional costs sorting and cleaning beans after delivery.
The Dùne Clean Cocoa Initiative was setup to help Nigerian cocoa farmers sort their beans on clean, elevated surfaces.
Nigerian cocoa farmers traditionally sort beans on the farm floor after fermentation. This sorting method leads to clean Grade 1 beans being contaminated with dirt and foreign matter right before being bagged. Such bad forming practices lead to forced discounted prices for Nigerian cocoa beans – because of the high percentage of waste buyers expect to receive in their jute bags.
We set out to fix this simple problem and significantly increase the value of Nigerian cocoa beans in the export market.
