Côte d'Or (brand)

The logo from Côte d'Or

Côte d'Or is a producer of Belgian chocolate, owned by Kraft Foods. Côte d'Or was founded in 1883 by Charles Neuhaus,^[1] a chocolate manufacturer who used the name Côte d'Or (French for Gold Coast) referring to the old name of contemporary Ghana, the source of much of the cacao beans used in chocolate manufacturing.

Côte d'Or was purchased by Jacobs Suchard in 1987; Jacobs Suchard in turn was purchased by Kraft General Foods in 1990.

Belgians consume 600 million Côte d'Or products a year.^[2] Every day, the Côte d'Or factory in Halle (near Brussels) produces 1.3 million mignonnettes (small chocolate bars), and 2 million Chokotoffs (chocolate bonbons).^[2]

Logo

The emblem of Côte d'Or is an elephant, a symbol which recalls the African origin of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of Côte d'Or. One source also claims that elephants were used to haul the sacks of cocoa beans.[2] In an earlier versions of the logo three pyramids were also featured, perhaps suggesting that it was more a simple appeal to the "exotic" origin of the beans for consumers.[3]

Notable events

During World War II, high quality ingredients became unavailable. Because of this, Côte d’Or stopped producing chocolate, making room for the lower quality Congobar.^[3]

1963: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of the Belgian Royal Family visits the factory of Côte d’Or.

1965: Côte d'Or acquires the title "Diplomated supplier for the Belgium Royalty."

Ethical cocoa sourcing

There have been continuing question marks over the ethical stance of chocolate brands worldwide. After it became clear in 2001 that thousands of children were being trafficked and exploited on the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast,^[4] Kraft, along with the rest of industry, signed the Harkin Engel protocol,^[5] promising to remove the worst forms of child labour from the cocoa supply chain. In October 2009 Kraft has achieved a milestone in reaching this goal with the launch of the first mainstream chocolate products in Europe to carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. Starting in France and Belgium, Côte d'Or premium dark chocolate will contain at least 30 percent cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Over the coming months, the certified Côte d'Or range will be rolled out to consumers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States. Kraft Foods has also committed to use cocoa beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms only across its entire Côte d'Or and Marabou lines, representing some 30,000 tonnes of beans by the end of 2012.^[6]

Countries where Côte d’Or is available

Currently Côte d’Or is sold in more than 20 countries, across 5 continents.

North America and Caribbean	Oceania	Europe	Africa	Asia	South America
Canada United States	Australia	Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg France Germany Hungary Italy Ireland Greece Spain Portugal Sweden Norway Iceland Switzerland United Kingdom Russia Poland Romania Bulgaria Czech Republic Slovakia Latvia Lithuania Croatia	Egypt South Africa	People's Republic of China Japan Malaysia Singapore Lebanon Kuwait Jordan Israel Qatar

Example of Cote d'Or products

Milk Chocolate 100g - Pure Côte d'Or Milk Chocolate

Dark Chocolate 100g - 54% dark chocolate decadence

Milk Chocolate 47 g - Smooth Milk Chocolate in a on the go small bar

Dark Chocolate 47 g - Dark Chocolate in a on the go small bar

Lait intense - Creamy milk chocolate around a dark chocolate center to create a decadent, intense taste.

86% Noir Brut - Côte d’Or Brut contains 86 percent cocoa for a smooth, pure and intensely rewarding experience.

Noir Orange - A rewarding deep, dark chocolate complemented by orange chocolate-truffle and pieces of candied orange zest.

Noir 70% cacao - Intense 70% Cacao has outside layers of dark chocolate that surround a rich center and delivers a rich dark chocolate taste.

Noir 70% cacao with caramalized cocoa nibs - Intense 70% Cacao has outside layers of dark chocolate that combined with the crunchy texture of caramelized cocoa nibs.

Noir de Noir Mignonnettes - 10-gram squares with 56 percent cocoa used for sophisticated sampling.

Lait Intense Mignonnettes - Bite-size morsels of sweet milk chocolate with a thin layer of rich, intense chocolate hidden within.

Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts 45g - Smooth milk chocolate with chopped hazelnuts.

Milk Chocolate 150g (2x 75) - Milk Chocolate featured in Centennial paper wrap packaging from 1911

Dark Chocolate 150g (2x 75) - Dark Chocolate featured in Centennial paper wrap packaging from 1911

Chokotoff - Famous caramel-chocolate toffee

References

1. ^ "Côte d`Or - Home". Cotedorus.com. http://www.cotedorus.com/cotedor/page. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Côte d`Or - wist_u_dat". Cotedor.be. http://www.cotedor.be/cotedor/page?siteid=cotedor-prd&locale=benl1&PagecRef=834. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
3. ^ http://www.cotedor.ca/cotedor/page?siteid=cotedor-prd&locale=caen1&PagecRef=630
4. ^ "AFRICA | Mali's children in chocolate slavery". BBC News. 2001-04-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1272522.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
5. ^ http://www.cocoainitiative.org/images/stories/pdf/harkin%20engel%20protocol.pdf
6. ^ http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/news.cfm?id=kraft_cocoa

www.chocolatebarcafe.co.uk http://stores.ebay.co.uk/chocolatebarcafe

External links

• Côte d'Or Website