The ice cream brand aims to help 5,000 female cocoa farmers in Côte D'Ivoire achieve financial stability and diversify their incomes, for greater prosperity in the cocoa-farming offseason, by 2025.
Today, Magnum ice cream launched AWA by Magnum —
a program to empower 5,000 female cocoa farmers socially and economically by
2025. By setting women up with direct cash transfers and the skills to diversify
their income, Magnum aims to help them financially stabilize their families and
build their personal business ambitions for greater prosperity in the off-peak
cocoa-farming season.
2025 Cocoa Strategy
This campaign forms part of Magnum’s 2025 Cocoa Strategy to support the
cocoa-farming community in Côte d'Ivoire, where Magnum sources much of its
cocoa. Magnum has committed to invest €25M to fund its wider cocoa impact
programs.
Since 2012, Magnum has invested €80M into making its cocoa supply more
sustainable — including the traceability and segregation of its cocoa beans — to
ensure the cocoa beans used in Magnum’s classic, almond and white chocolate
products in Europe are 100 percent traceable to certified farmer groups. Doing
so helps Magnum identify the cocoa communities who would most benefit from its
Impact Programs.
Magnum joins a growing number of companies working to enhance the wellbeing and
sustainability of their suppliers through efforts to increase financial
literacy,
access,
and digital
inclusion;
and offering living
wages
and income-diversification
programs.
Magnum’s 2025 Cocoa Strategy aims to improve the lives of its direct cocoa
suppliers through tailored impact programs with three key aims:
Magnum has worked in collaboration with NGOs including financial training
nonprofit 100WEEKS and humanitarian aid organization
CARE International to bring its
female-focused impact programs to life. Additionally, 200 female cocoa farmers
received funds from Pleasure
Imagined
in 2020 and started using the money for craft-led income-diversification
opportunities.
“Since 2012, we have invested €80M in making Magnum’s supply chains sustainable.
This has also enabled us to create and implement a range of impact programs to
protect and elevate cocoa and the communities that produce it,” a spokesperson
for Magnum said in a statement. “Through AWA by Magnum, we are putting
additional focus on supporting female cocoa farmers as we know women are at the
heart of many families and communities.
“Due to the seasonality of cocoa farming, the schemes have supported women in
setting up additional income streams for the 6-month off-season from cocoa
farming, enabling them to follow their true interests. This paves the way for
the future of AWA and showcases the long-standing support from Magnum towards
the women in cocoa-farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire. Data from our research
— which surveyed the women who have already begun the program with 100WEEKS —
shows women sleep better, have greater average savings per week and are overall
happier. This gives us great confidence that we are creating meaningful impact
through our programs and paves the way to scale up the program by 2025.”
AWA
To shine a light on the female cocoa-farming community and the women who have
been part of Magnum’s Impact Programs to date, Magnum is launching AWA — the
brand’s first digital avatar — an amalgam made from the profiles and faces of
128 Ivorian female cocoa farmers, who benefit from Magnum’s empowerment program.
Going live on International Women’s Day (8 March 2022), AWA will model a
limited-edition fashion collection created in partnership with Ivorian fashion
designer Rebecca Zoro, using
local materials and inspired by her heritage and culture. Over the past 2 years,
Zoro has supported Magnum’s on-the-ground work — sharing guidance on business
and entrepreneurial skills to cocoa farmers as well as practical advice on
honing their income-generating craft skills, such as sewing.
The 5-piece collection is available for purchase from on 8th March 2022 via the
AWA by Magnum online store. Funds generated from the
sale of the collection will help raise additional funds for tailored impact
programs led by Magnum in Côte d’Ivoire.
“AWA by Magnum is a dream come true because it is the synergy between the young
stylist that I am, the commitment of the women I met and the talent of our local
artisans,” Zoro said. “I am so excited to present AWA on such a global platform
and proud to know that the benefits will go to farming communities through
Magnum's cocoa program that supports them.”
Published Jan 1, 1970 7am EST / 4am PST / 1pm BST / 1pm CET
Sustainable Brands Staff