Left to right: Albert Heijn, PLUS and Superunie, and Jumbo received a Living Income Award.
Photos: Solidaridad/Kim Pieper.
The road to fair chocolate products
Ensuring a living income for cocoa farmers is not straightforward. It requires structural changes in sourcing practices, pricing mechanisms and long-term partnerships. Over the past two years, leading Dutch retailers have taken important steps to translate this ambition into concrete commitments for their private label products.
Albert Heijn was the first Dutch supermarket to make a decisive commitment. In October 2024, it announced that it would transition all cocoa used in its private-label products to a living income-based sourcing model, working closely with Tony’s Open Chain. The retailer had already partnered with Tony’s Open Chain through its Delicata brand since 2018 and aims to source all cocoa for its private label products via this model before 2028—positioning itself ahead of its peers.
Superunie, representing a large group of independent retailers, announced its commitment in August 2025 in collaboration with Fairtrade Netherlands. Superunie explicitly recognised that existing certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade, alone are insufficient to guarantee a living income and committed to taking additional steps. By 2030, it aims to enable a living income for all private label products containing at least 5% cocoa, while working with Fairtrade to develop improved approaches to close the income gap.
At the end of 2023, Jumbo also joined Tony’s Open Chain, aligning with a sourcing model built on transparency, long-term relationships and the Living Income Reference Price (LIRP). In 2024, this collaboration led to the introduction of the first fairly sourced private-label chocolate products in Jumbo stores. Jumbo formalised its roadmap in December 2025: by the end of 2029, all cocoa used in its private-label products will be sourced through programs that include payment of the LIRP, with an interim target of 50% compliant volumes by the end of 2027.
These commitments signal a structural shift: fairly sourced chocolate will no longer be limited to niche products, but will increasingly become standard across everyday items such as chocolate sprinkles, baked goods and desserts.
Significant impact on cocoa farmers’ livelihoods
Meaningful progress in human rights and sustainability depends on fair value distribution throughout supply chains. This remains particularly urgent in the cocoa sector, where millions of farmers still earn far below a living income. Low incomes, combined with rising costs of agricultural inputs and labour, food, education and healthcare, continue to trap farming households in poverty.
By committing to living income-based sourcing models, supermarkets play a critical role in reversing this dynamic. Higher and more stable incomes enable farmers to invest in their farms, support their families and build more resilient livelihoods.
Sector-wide progress and remaining gaps
With the commitments of Albert Heijn, Superunie and Jumbo, more than 80% of the Dutch grocery market has now committed to sourcing fair cocoa for their private label chocolate products. This marks a significant shift towards making fair chocolate the norm, rather than the exception.
At the same time, important gaps remain. Retailers such as Aldi and Lidl have yet to make comparable commitments. According to Dutch retail magazine Distrifood, Aldi is currently developing a plan, while Lidl is engaged in discussions with Oxfam Novib. Beyond retail, major chocolate manufacturers—including Nestlé, Mars, Mondelez and Ferrero—must also accelerate their efforts to enable living incomes for cocoa farmers, particularly at a time when global cocoa prices have once again declined sharply. In just 9 months, prices have come down from $11,000 per tonne in May 2025 to just above $4,000 per tonne in February 2026.
From leadership to system change
Supermarkets sit at the heart of food systems and are uniquely positioned to turn sustainability ambitions into market realities. Their commitments to fair cocoa demonstrate how leadership, when combined with clear targets and credible sourcing models, can drive transformational change at scale.
Solidaridad Europe will continue to work with frontrunners and challengers alike to ensure that these commitments translate into lasting improvements for farmers and workers. Together with supermarkets, suppliers and civil society partners, we are building supply chains in which living incomes, human rights and sustainability are embedded as standard business practice. We strengthen farmer livelihoods and the resilience of the global food system as a whole.