Cadbury's 'eats' Green&Blacks...
pirate | 14.05.2005 15:43 | Culture | Social Struggles | World
Reported in The Independent May 13th. (Timothy Allen)
Five executive directors of Green & Black's, the organic
chocolate brand beloved by foodiess,shared a £5m windfall
yesterday after CadburySchweppes swallowed it for an
undeisclosed sum. The group behind Dairy Milk and
Flake plan to run the company,in which it has had a 5%
stake since 2002,as an independent business. William
Kendal,the chief executive of G&B's,denied it was
abandoning its ethical roots. "If ethical trading is about
small business,then God help the world," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------
So that's aleight then ??? I don't think so, Back to
Co-Op (fairtrade chocy) I suppose. (I'll miss the orangy
one)
Five executive directors of Green & Black's, the organic
chocolate brand beloved by foodiess,shared a £5m windfall
yesterday after CadburySchweppes swallowed it for an
undeisclosed sum. The group behind Dairy Milk and
Flake plan to run the company,in which it has had a 5%
stake since 2002,as an independent business. William
Kendal,the chief executive of G&B's,denied it was
abandoning its ethical roots. "If ethical trading is about
small business,then God help the world," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------
So that's aleight then ??? I don't think so, Back to
Co-Op (fairtrade chocy) I suppose. (I'll miss the orangy
one)
pirate
Comments
Hide the following 11 comments
Bastards
14.05.2005 17:12
We the public demand they receive no benefit for the ideas, investment and work.
Socialist
chocolate
14.05.2005 19:22
coca-cola = ethical trading?
1998: "Cadbury Schweppes plc has reached agreement to sell its soft drinks brands outside the USA to The Coca-Cola Company, for a consideration of 1.85bn (£1.12bn). The current transaction excludes South Africa and France."
anti coca-cola campaigns:
- -
Swallowed up by chocolate gobblers
14.05.2005 23:36
No more Maya Gold
No more of you and your centralisation
To the chocoholic with a conscience, you're gone
dh
But do understand how this works
15.05.2005 00:55
If you are a big player in a business category and there appears to be potential in some segment of the market off the main track you have two possible strategies to profit form this niche market and also to protect yourself shouldl this segment grow to become an important share of the entire category. You can either.......
a) Start your own division to specialize in this niche.
b) Buy a going concern
The reality is that "a" is somewhat risky because your people lack expereince with this specialized niche compared to the palyers currentl;y in that game. That risk factor means that it may make more sense to do "b" even if this entails paying a hefty premium. You usually do NOT want to do other than treat this as an independent investment under its own experienced management -- after all, that experience and brand leadership in the niche why you were willing to pay a premium.
For the point of view of the owners of the buy out target it would be silly for them not to be willing to sell if they are being offered a substantial premium above what their company is worth.
Mike
e-mail:
stepbystpefarm mtdata.com
Green and Black's Not A Fairtrade Company Anyway
15.05.2005 17:25
I think that G+B's have done an amazing bit of "greenwash" over the years, the public's perception being that they are a Fairtrade company, the Guardian reader's "ethical" chocolate of choice, when in fact they are not.
When I found out 2 years ago they weren't Fairtrade I ditched them for real Fairtrade choccy.
Good luck to them and Cadbury's, they deserve each other.
chocoholic
Cash Crop Niche Marketing
16.05.2005 10:29
For more info on Green & Blacks and the liberal bullshitters conscience salving ( have your chocolate and eat it? ). An article published in the Guardian Weekend ( ooh the postmodern irony )explores this con job:-
"The UK taxpayer supports Green & Black's venture in Toledo via a £225,000 grant from the Department for International Development, intended to help the expansion of cocoa growing in the area. Yet when you consider that EU tariffs ensure the greater part of cocoa profits accrue to Europe, and calculate that VAT raises 28p from every bar of Maya Gold, against 6p for the growers, the net benefit is balanced heavily in favour of the British and European exchequers. At every turn, Europe profits, while the developing world is milked dry. Whatever the logo on the product, international trade will never be fair, and there's no western government that wants it to become fair."
Not trade justice - just us
Mixed Feelings
20.05.2005 09:49
Firstly, Green & Black’s chocolate wasn’t fair trade except for the Maya Gold anyway. No matter who owns them, if they want to continue using fairly traded cocoa in this bar they will have to stick to the really rigorous standards of the Fair Trade Foundation or they will lose the symbol. If they want to continue using organic ingredients in their other products they will have to conform to the Soil Association’s standards.
Secondly, I am all for any organisation, big or small, becoming more ethical, and if this move can influence Cadbury-Schweppes or its competitors then I don’t care if it’s used as a marketing tool. This story might make Nestle compete by introducing organic / fair trade products – wouldn’t that be great?? Ummm…not sure that it would stop me boycotting them (mixed feelings as I said).
The difficulty comes in us deciding whether the marketing outweighs the good that is being done. Are they doing enough? At what point do we accept that the coffee brewing in Starbucks this morning was actually fairly traded and therefore has made a difference to the people harvesting the beans? Do we choose the evil McDonalds for a free range egg mcmuffin, or a battery laid egg muffin and a Nescafe coffee from the cute little café down the road? The Body Shop gets criticism that it’s a global company which only cares about profits. In reality, by trading with a community in Namibia to get its Marula Oil (found in every one of its make up products) that whole community has been taken off the poverty line and they now have health care provision, education facilities, regular income from a fairly reliable source.
Large organisations can make so much difference to so many people; I really don’t want to just dismiss them offhand. Of course it’s about profits, an ugly word, but if we want our ugly capitalist society to become more ethical it has to be profitable to be ethical, or only a few will follow suit.
Anne Mari
all your bases are ours
29.05.2005 12:53
And besides, small companies, with enough support, become big companies - and then become run by CEOs who just want to maximise profits, adopting all kinds of unethical operating methods to cut costs - so, the pressure should be placed on the big companies to actually change - perhaps by indicating that you will support other big companies who are greener - not just supporting "independent small producers".
Note however, that I am in no way supporting megaconglomerates - i am just saying you should support a product based on its quality - if a small company makes a good product at a fair price (to you anyway) - go for it! But don't just throw away money on "green creds"- because it honestly doesn't make a difference - fair trade and organic growth only makes an impact when the big players adopt it themselves - so pressure them, not by throwing away money but buying from the other big ones who do - and charge a reasonable price at the same time.
fare trade boy
Office of Fair Trading steps in...
14.06.2005 15:54
Even leaving the fair trade aspects to one side, it is likely that this takeover would reduce choice and competitive pricing of organic chocolate in the longer term. Cadburies are big and will price G&B products to suit their own needs.
When this deal was announced I wrote to the OFT, who have now said they are investigating it. They have invited comments.
James Page, Green Party Fair Trading Policy Advisor
Homepage:
http://www.greenparty.org.uk
Cadbury's are ethical to a degree
06.05.2006 17:00
G
Cadbury 19thC social innovation
18.08.2007 19:38
William
Homepage:
http://www.idealgovernment.com