Green & Black’s is a British chocolate company known for its focus on organic, Fairtrade certified ingredients. The company was founded in 1991 by Craig Sams and his wife Josephine Fairley. Over the past three decades, Green & Black’s has grown from a small startup selling chocolate bars at farmers’ markets in London to an international brand owned by Mondelez International.
Green & Black’s helped pioneer the market for organic and ethical chocolate. It was the first Fairtrade chocolate brand in the UK and one of the earliest companies to receive organic certification. The brand’s devotion to simple, high-quality ingredients and its ethical sourcing practices were ahead of their time and set Green & Black’s apart in the chocolate market.
Founding of Green & Black’s
Craig Sams had experience in the food industry before starting Green & Black’s. In the 1960s, Sams worked at Whole Earth Foods, a pioneering health food company. He later started his own business, Harmony Foods, which sold packaged organic foods like cereals and nut butters.
In 1991, Sams decided to try making chocolate bars using organic cocoa sourced directly from growers. At the time, organic and single-origin cocoa was virtually unheard of in the chocolate market. Most chocolate contained commodity cocoa grown with pesticides and processed using alkali.
Sams’ wife Josephine Fairley, a journalist, came up with the idea of targeting the bars at niche health food stores and specialty retailers. The dark packaging stood out on shelves used to brightly-colored candy bars.
The name “Green & Black’s” was meant to communicate the natural ingredients – “green” for organic and “black” for the dark cocoa. The founders also hoped the stark name would stand out.
Green & Black’s first product launch in 1991 included three chocolate bar flavors: Maya Gold, the Best of Espresso, and Butterscotch. The bars retailed for £1.99, significantly more than a typical candy bar. The founders were surprised when their first run of chocolate bars sold out rapidly.
Early Growth and Product Expansion
In Green & Black’s early years, production was limited to the couple’s small commercial kitchen. As demand grew, they moved production to larger facilities and forged partnerships with cooperatives in Belize to secure sources of Maya Gold cocoa.
Green & Black’s expanded beyond chocolate bars into truffles and gift boxed chocolates. One particularly successful product launch was the Maya Gold Chocolate & Orange bar in 1994. Green & Black’s also introduced limited edition “529g bars,” oversized chocolate bars that became status symbols and popular gifts.
By the late 1990s, Green & Black’s was widely distributed in natural foods stores and upscale supermarkets throughout the UK. The brand’s reputation for quality attracted devoted fans who appreciated its focus on pure, ethically-sourced ingredients.
| Year | Key Milestones |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Green & Black’s founded in London by Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley |
| 1992 | First production partnership with MAYA cocoa growers in Belize |
| 1994 | Launch of popular Maya Gold Chocolate & Orange bar |
| 1996 | Becomes first UK chocolate brand with Fairtrade certification |
| 1998 | Green & Black’s awarded first organic certification |
Growth and Acquisition
Even as Green & Black’s grew, the company remained dedicated to its founding ideals of organic ingredients, direct trade, and social responsibility. All Green & Black’s cocoa was sourced directly from growers rather than commodity markets, which guaranteed a fair price.
In 1999, Green & Black’s became a B-Corp certified company, codifying its commitments to environmental and social responsibility. The brand also created the first Fairtrade chocolate bar.
Green & Black’s grew into an international company throughout the early 2000s. It expanded distribution to the United States and other countries, built partnerships with cocoa growers in locations like Grenada, and introduced new products like ice cream and baking chocolate.
The company caught the attention of Cadbury Schweppes, who acquired Green & Black’s in 2005 for £20 million. A few years later, Cadbury was purchased by Kraft Foods, which later spun off its snack brands as Mondelez International. Today Green & Black’s operates as a subsidiary of Mondelez.
Business Today
Under Mondelez ownership, Green & Black’s has become a global premium chocolate brand. Its bars are sold in stores across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Popular product lines include the Velvet Edition and Maya Gold bars.
Green & Black’s has introduced innovations like velvetised chocolate, made using organic cocoa butter sourced directly from Togo. However, the company’s focus remains on ethically-sourced, single origin dark chocolate with simple, organic ingredients.
As of 2022, Green & Black’s worked directly with cocoa growers in Belize, Grenada, Indonesia, India, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Dominican Republic. The brand remains a leader in the ethical chocolate space, devoting significant resources to community development projects in cocoa growing regions.
While no longer independent, Green & Black’s has retained its reputation for responsible business practices under Mondelez ownership. It continues to be an influential brand, showing that ethical products can achieve mainstream success.
Conclusion
Over three decades, Green & Black’s progressed from a small startup to a beloved chocolate brand to a subsidiary of a global snacks conglomerate. Yet it remains dedicated to its founding mission of organic, ethically-sourced chocolate.
Green & Black’s success helped pave the way for other responsible chocolate brands like Divine Chocolate and Endangered Species Chocolate. It proved that there was consumer demand for ethically produced, premium chocolate – a notion that was far from obvious when the company was founded in 1991.
From its quirky beginnings selling chocolate bars at London farmers’ markets, Green & Black’s grew into an iconic brand by sticking to its principles. Its commitment to simple, high quality ingredients and fair dealings with growers is an inspiring model other businesses can look to.
