DIVINE CHOCOLATE is just not selling Easter eggs this 12 months. The decision is predicted to mean that the demand for Fairtrade chocolate eggs will outstrip the provision.
A spokesperson for Divine confirmed the news on Tuesday, in response to questions from the Church Times. The decision, the spokesperson said, was “purely guided by industrial and brand reasons, and brought post lengthy discussions with our suppliers”. The company said that it was “very much the intention that an Easter range will return for 2026”.
The director of the Meaningful Chocolate Company, David Marshall, warned that, because Divine was not producing eggs, there could be a shortage of Fairtrade Easter eggs. “As we were unaware of Divine’s decision to not to fabricate for Easter, we didn’t increase our output or range, so only have about 150,000 eggs available. It’s sad news for growers, who aren’t going to have a lot demand.”
“It’s Unfair Trade”
The cost of cocoa had quadrupled lately, Mr Marshall said, and this had put pressure on producers resembling Divine Chocolate and the Meaningful Chocolate Company. Increased prices were mostly due to speculators who bought and sold the cocoa harvest, Mr Marshall said.
The Meaningful Chocolate Company was crowd-funded by churches and schools in 2010, when Mr Marshall had the thought of selling a chocolate egg that referred explicitly to the Easter story, branded as “The Real Easter Egg” (News, 1 October 2010).
“Divine pulling out of Easter means that individuals aren’t going to seek out as many Fairtrade Easter eggs on supermarket shelves, they usually’ll must do some more work to seek out them,” he said.
The Real Easter Egg has previously been available in supermarkets (News, 28 March 2013), however it is now sold online and thru small retailers only. Mr Marshall explained that the choice was taken to withdraw from supermarkets due to high discounts that they demanded.
