Divine Fairtrade Chocolate

I like chocolate and I love a deal. My friend Katie knows both of these things and because she's a friend she phoned to brag about a deal she had spotted at Tesco.

Lindt 70% dark chocolate is my favourite, at Tesco 100g costs £1.29. Displayed right next to it is a bar called 'Divine'. The price on the shelf is 54p but in fact when scanned at the checkout it sold at 51p.

Divine is different from Lindt. It's a Fairtrade bar. The Fairtrade cocoa beans are from Ghana and the farmers own part of the company www.divinechocolate.com .

So Tesco sell Divine for 51p. Sainsbury's and Waitrose also sell this ethical Divine chocolate - but for 79p. That's 65% more expensive.

So who's profiting? The cocoa farmers are getting a guaranteed Fairtrade price of $1600 per tonne for the cocoa, then there are shipping, manufacturing, wholesale, marketing, transport costs and VAT at the shop.

I wonder what the supermarkets pay for a 100g bar? Tesco can't be selling for a loss at 51p and I really hope Sainsbury's and Waitrose aren't pocketing the extra from the 79p they charge. Perhaps they pay more for the bars (The Ghanaian farmers own part of the company too remember).

The Taste Test

OK, so its Fairtrade and its good value - but I hear you ask - does Divine taste any good? Well Katie and I like blind tasting, so independently we can report a unanimous yes. Against Green & Blacks organic dark I would say the difference is indistinguishable. For me Lindt is still favourite (more bitter and more vanilla taste) but as I can buy two and a half times as much Divine for the same price as Lindt and it tastes just as good as G&B, Divine gets my vote.

Oh, and I can feel a warm glow while I'm eating the chocolate because I'll be helping those Ghanaian farmers.