Thanks to the QR code on the box of chocolates, the customer can check that Oberweis has not only chosen quality products, but that the producers have been properly paid. (Photo: Koa)

Thanks to the QR code on the box of chocolates, the customer can check that Oberweis has not only chosen quality products, but that the producers have been properly paid. (Photo: Koa)

Luxembourg patisserie Oberweis is using blockchain technology to provide transparency regarding how the chocolate it is selling is being made.

The quality of a product can often make consumers turn a blind eye to the production process and this is especially the case for chocolate. Oberweis has teamed up with Swiss fair trade company Koa and German company SeedTrace to improve the transparency of their supply chain.

“In 2022, we want to prove that people are paid fairly and that we work as equals in the value chain. Koa's blockchain integration guarantees absolute transparency and allows us to set an example for the industry,” said Jeff Oberweis.

“We want to abolish long and non-transparent supply chains,” said Anian Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of Koa. “Instead of claiming good business practices, we put our cards on the table and let consumers see every payment made to cocoa farmers.”

Koa aims to increase the income of Ghanaian smallholder farmers, a solution for poverty reduction. The start-up works with over 2,200 cocoa farmers and will integrate another 10,000 smallholder farmers into its value chain over the next two years.

Existing certification standards often validate transactions through opaque and error-prone procedures, with farmers often receiving only a portion of the funds intended for them, notes SeedTrace. To counter this, the Berlin-based start-up has developed a system that eliminates errors and allows customers to track farmers' income. “We verify every transaction and store it in a decentralised manner, on a low-emission blockchain. Together with Koa, we are setting new standards that ensure that information is verified, cannot be manipulated and is publicly available in real time,” said SeedTrace CEO Ana Selina Haberbosch.

The new system is unique because it combines blockchain with mobile money transactions. “This combination allows us to verify farmers' additional income, provide full documentation and increase consumer confidence,” says Francis Appiagyei-Poku, finance and administration director at Koa. Oberweis also partnered with MTN Group, Africa's largest telecommunications provider, and US-based Topl for the blockchain.

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This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.