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San Churro commits to Fairtrade program

Sarah Stowe

Giro Maurici, founder of San ChurroSan Churro has stepped up to the mark in its aim to help build a fairer future for cocoa farmers in developing countries.

The popular franchise has become the first national chocolate cafŽ chain in Australia to purchase cocoa under the new Fairtrade Cocoa program.

Approximately 70 percent of the dark, milk and white chocolate menu items served at San Churro are now created using Fairtrade cocoa. The iconic couverture chocolate is still imported from Spain, but it now carries the Fairtrade cocoa certification.

At the moment this offer is eat-in only, it’s not available across the retail merchandise.

San Churro’s commitment to Fairtrade began in 2010 when the brand became the first national cafŽ chain to serve it’s certified organic coffee throughout the network.

Giro Maurici, founder of San Churro, says “Our Fairtrade commitment is long term. This is just the beginning for us, we are currently working hard with all our suppliers to extend the use of Fairtrade cocoa to all areas of our chocolate offering.”

The CEO of Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand, Molly Harriss Olson, says “Currently 90 percent of the world’s cocoa is grown on small-scale family farms but only 1.2 percent of this is sold on Fairtrade terms, so it’s fantastic to to see San Churro leading the way.

“Fairtrade is all about doing business better and fairer. In the case of our Fairtrade Cocoa Program it’s also a good excuse to eat more of what you love and feel good about it.”

Maurici adds “Our mission is to serve the best chocolate in the most delightful way. For us, this is not only about creating happiness for our customers but also assisting the farmers who grow our cocoa in breaking the poverty cycle and improving the living conditions within their communities. As such, we are proud and excited to now offer a Fairtrade option to our customers.” 

He says a significant amount of marketing will be done to promote this connection.

“We celebrated our Fairtrade cocoa commitment with an awareness campaign in November. The marketing strategy was very much digitally and store-led; with a focus on social media and digital content and in store promotions.”

On top of this the company invested heavily in supporting franchise partners at a local level through very targeted PR and further targeted digital media activity.

 “We will continue to invest marketing spend in the future to raise awareness among our target audience and build brand preference.”

 There will be no additional cost to the customer, as part of the company’s commitment to the Fairtrade Cocoa Program is to absorb the costs within the business.

And this step to a better future for the farmers is going to be good news for the franchisees too, giving them a real point of difference in the marketplace, he believes.

“The benefits of Fairtrade extend beyond the cocoa farmers to our franchise partners too.  They are proud of the fact that San Churro is the only national chocolate cafŽ chain to make a commitment to purchasing Fairtrade cocoa and are proud to help create a positive change for the world and its people.

“By providing customers a fair chocolate choice, we are building a point of difference in our market and our franchise partners benefit from the increased sales and brand loyalty that follows from building a brand with substance.”