At Bedré Fine Chocolate, every ounce of our milk and dark chocolate is certified by Cacao Trace, a globally recognized sustainability program that ensures not only fully traceable cacao sourcing, but direct farmer support in the West African communities that cultivate, harvest and ferment Bedré’s cocoa.
This isn’t just a “sustainable line” of products or a marketing ploy. As a Chickasaw Nation company, it’s part of our stewardship, community responsibility and sustainable sourcing efforts, so all of our dark and milk chocolate products carry Cacao Trace certification. It’s also what our customers – like you – expect: an ethical product that does right by the people who make it possible. Cacao Trace is the real deal, doing substantial, measurable good for our farmers.
Founded in 2014 and partnered with Bedré Fine Chocolate since 2018, Cacao Trace has worked with more than 24,000 cacao farmer families across the world’s cacao growing regions, working to build a sustainable cocoa future. That work is far-reaching, covering seven principles:
Legal Responsibility and Management
Quality and Traceability
Economic Responsibility
Social Responsibility
Health and Safety
Best Agricultural Practices
Environmental Responsibility
As long as cacao has been grown for global demand, the industry has struggled with deforestation, inconsistent products, and – most importantly – farmers who live in poverty and rely on forced child labor to cultivate, harvest and process their cacao trees.
Farmer Poverty & Forced Child Labor
Inconsistent Methods & Products
Deforestation
Bedré Fine Chocolate and Cacao Trace have partnered to combat these problems, with real, measurable changes – plus full traceability from bars all the way back to beans. For any chocolatier or farmer to become Cacao Trace-certified, a three-year vetting process is required, plus annual, external reverification audits conducted by Control Union.
In addition to its tracing programs, Cacao Trace provides a quality premium for farmers by determining their local living income reference price (LIRP) and ensuring a living income for each farmer. This amounts to approximately two to five months of extra income per year! On top of the quality premium, 5¢ per pound sold also goes back into their local community to fund local education, health and well-being projects.
Farmer Poverty & Forced Child Labor
Quality Premium
2-5 months’ extra income annually
Chocolate Bonus
5¢/pound sold for community projects
Family Support
Working with families to ensure children have educational opportunities and the option to learn the family trade, but any forced labor is corrected
Inconsistent Methods & Products
Traceability
From each farm through final product
Training & Monitoring
On proper cultivation, harvesting, fermentation and drying procedures
Support & Coaching
Help cocoa farmers diversify their income, increase yields and bean quality
Deforestation
Agroforestry
Regenerative approach not only reduces need for clear-cutting forest, but is better for cacao trees, which thrive under the canopy of larger trees. Reduces pressure on existing resources, less soil erosion and protects young plants.
Trees Planted
Through your support, Bedré Fine Chocolate has been able to impact our cacao farmers with Chocolate Bonuses and Quality Premiums that made all the following possible:
$1.88M
In direct payments & community projects
Three Classrooms
Built in Yangoru & Angoram, Papua New Guinea
12 Solar Water Wells
Built in Cote d'Ivoire
4,500
School kits donated in Cote d'Ivoire
Maternity Ward
Built in Nero Brousse, Cote d'Ivoire
Since its founding in 2014, Cacao Trace has made possible across all of its cacao farms:
$17.8M
Chocolate Bonus Collected
34
School Projects
183
Chocolate Factories
1.1M
Trees Planted
This partnership improves the imbalance in profit-sharing throughout the value chain. It's a way chocolate lovers like you can make a positive difference in the lives of our cacao farmers. When you buy Bedré Fine Chocolate products you are supporting the long-term supply of chocolate, while directly helping to improve the lives of our cacao farmers.
Both Cacao Trace and Fairtrade approach the chocolate-making industry with the same intent to support farmers. They both do this by working to ensure farmers are treated well, and receive a fair, livable wage. The reason Bedré Fine Chocolate has chosen to work with Cacao Trace is that Cacao Trace also adds full supply chain traceability, which helps us ensure a final product that is as ethically sourced as it is consistently delicious.
01
The Cacao tree only grows in the tropics, and yields about 30 pods with around 35 beans per pod. Each pound of finished cocoa requires about 12 cacao pods.
02
These delicate trees live in the understory of tropical forests, and require taller trees around them to protect them from extreme heat. Rather than clearcutting rainforest and planting trees, through Cacao Trace, Bedré’s farmers use agroforestry principles to sustainably grow and protect these trees. This reduces pressure on existing resources, helps reduce soil erosion and protects young cocoa plants.
03
Farmers monitor pods for ripeness and harvest each pod at the same level of ripeness to ensure consistency in the finished product. This can differ even among the same tree!
04
After harvesting pods, they are opened and de-stemmed without breaking the cocoa beans inside. The beans are then sorted, removing any black, rotten or germinated beans.
05
Bedré’s farmers use fermentation processes which are optimized to regional geography and cocoa types. The beans spend about 5 days in a wooden box, covered with mats or banana leaves. The beans’ pulp naturally heats up and causes fermentation. Much like wine, fermentation results in the development of complex aromas and flavors.
06
When fermentation is complete, the beans are gently and naturally sun-dried for up to 11 days. This natural approach means no extra energy is used and no new flavors are introduced.
07
This is what separates cacao from cocoa. Cocoa gets roasted low and slow, which reduces acidity, mellows out the flavor and evokes delicate nuances.
08
The cocoa solids become cocoa powder, and cocoa butter is extracted.
09
After separation, our Belgian partner uses our proprietary recipe to craft specially formulated wafers, which are then delivered to our manufacturing facility in Davis, Oklahoma.
10
Our final bars, meltaways, chocolate-covered snacks and all of our milk and dark chocolate products are fully Cacao Trace-certified and crafted in our Davis, Oklahoma chocolate factory.
Cacao Trace is a sustainability program that ensures full traceability of cocoa from farm to finished product. Unlike some certifications that focus only on pricing, Cacao Trace tracks the entire supply chain, verifies farming conditions, and provides direct financial support to cocoa-growing communities in West Africa.
Bedré uses Cacao Trace certification rather than Fairtrade certification. Both programs support cocoa farmers, but they work differently. Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price. Cacao Trace adds full supply chain traceability and direct farm-level monitoring. Neither program is better or worse. They take different approaches to the same goal of ethical chocolate production.
Cacao Trace provides financial premiums directly to farming communities, funds community development projects like schools, clean water and healthcare, monitors farming conditions to prevent exploitation, and ensures traceability so consumers know where their cocoa comes from.
All Bedré chocolate is made exclusively with Cacao Trace certified cocoa. This means every product can be traced back to the farming community that grew the cocoa. The certification ensures fair compensation, community investment, and responsible farming practices throughout the supply chain.
Yes. Bedré is committed to using only Cacao Trace certified chocolate, which provides a higher level of supply chain transparency than many other certification programs. Bedré is also owned by the Chickasaw Nation, making it one of the only tribally owned chocolate manufacturer in the United States.
Fairtrade focuses on guaranteed minimum pricing and community premiums for cooperatives. Cacao Trace focuses on full supply chain traceability, direct farm-level monitoring, and community investment. For a detailed comparison, see our Cacao Trace & Fairtrade guide.