Blommer Chocolate Co. said it will invest $45 million to support cocoa sustainability efforts by 2020 under a new program it calls Sustainable Origins.
As part of the initiative, the family-owned company based in Chicago expects to double its base of 50,000 cocoa farmers that participate in the company's programs to produce sustainable and traceable cocoa.
Known by most Chicagoans for the chocolate scent that wafts through the city, the private company is little known outside of its customer base of the world's biggest confectionery, baking and dairy companies. Blommer opened its factory at 600 W. Kinzie St. to media for the first time today to make the announcement. Veruca Salt and Oompa Loompas were nowhere to be found.
Blommer, pronounced “Blummer,” is the largest processor of cocoa beans and the largest chocolate ingredient supplier in North America. With cocoa demand expected to outrun supply by more than 1 million metric tons — or 25 percent of the current supply by 2020 — the company has a vested interest in protecting its supply.
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