Chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures. Unfortunately, the current chocolate industry is also fraught with suffering. Every Hey Tiger product purchased contributes to a more equitable global landscape through our ethical sourcing and production practices, and donation to The Hunger Project. Read how on our Mission and The Hunger Project pages.

The Hunger Project is an incredible charity working towards sustainably ending world hunger. Their empowerment-focused strategies position people living in hunger as the solution, not the problem. 2% of each Hey Tiger purchase contributes to Social Development and Women’s Empowerment and Entrepreneurship initiatives. Read more about how we work with The Hunger Project here.

We value animal and environmental welfare, but we can’t tackle every issue at once. Our primary goal is to remove human suffering from the chocolate supply and production chain, and to make a significant difference we need to give people a product they know and love. Far and away the most customer demand is for chocolate with dairy in it. We’re working to expand our range to include plant-based chocolate – watch this space.

We purchase our cocoa using a system that regularly audits the supply chain, weeding out occurrences of underpayment, forced labour or enslavement, and child or underage labour. This program pours funds back into social and environmental development schemes to ensure that the communities who supply our cocoa can prosper from the cacao trade, not be exploited by it. 

We have strict rules in place to ensure we only work with those who fulfil the following criteria:

1. They must purchase cacao above the average market price to help secure livelihoods for farmers. We place specific focus on ensuring child labour is not part of the supply chain. 

2. They must uphold environmental practices to ensure the viability of cacao farming for the long term. 

3. They have established CSR practices that are directed towards cacao-producing communities. Different suppliers have distinct programs in place, so we individually review each supplier. 

Read more about sourcing and production on our Mission page.

We ensure that all our cacao is sourced ethically, and Fairtrade certification is just one component of that. 

One of the cacaos we use is Fairtrade, while the rest are under a different auditing scheme. This allows us to ensure that the higher prices we pay for cacao actively contribute to equitable working conditions and community empowerment. This model is the best way for Hey Tiger to give straight back to the chocolate industry and associated communities.

While we, as consumers, usually only see the gorgeous end product of a chocolate block, there is a lot more to it than that.

The mainstream chocolate industry is fraught with suffering. There are millions of women and children in forced labour situations on cacao farms in West Africa, where the majority of cacao comes from. 2/3 of farmers are living below the poverty line, and there are also an estimated 1.56 million children missing out on their youth due to child labour.

This has to change. When you buy Hey Tiger, you vote for a more equitable landscape foreveryonein the chocolate industry. Read more about the current chocolate industry and how we’re championing change on our Mission page.