Consumers Affect Chocolatier Decisions

Sisters and Brothers, sometimes it feels like all we can do in this world is chose between one product and the next based on our wallets. As your Chocolate Priestess hopes she reiterates on a regular basis, you have other power as a consumer.

An example of this consumer power happened a bit earlier this summer when international chocolate company Cadbury decided to switch to palm oil in place of some cocoa butter. I've seen several news articles reporting that consumer complaints and outcry have lead to the company's decision to return to using just cocoa butter and not substitute palm oil.

How did consumers achieve this? By acting as individuals sending emails and phoning the consumer hotlines for the company and by joining groups such as on Facebook. In other words, they not only refused to buy the products but they made it known why they weren't buying. You have to do both things to have an impact. These tactics work best on companies that are profit driven by sales and not subsidized by governments.

So the next time a company, whether it makes chocolate products or not, offends you or tries to offer you something less healthy or simply less than what you feel you are paying for, speak out. Consider it part of your duty to yourself, your finances and to The Chocolate Cult.

Sisters and Brothers, may you too take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.

For more information, check these articles:
TVZN
Guardian

Comments

mavido79 said…
Agreed! A drop in sales can be attributable to numerous factors. The company needs to know specifically why you're buying or not buying a product. If you don't want to take the time to dig around attempting to find contact info on a company, there are several "bitchboards" online (planetfeedback.com is my favorite and no, I'm not affiliated with it in any way other than being a user) that can make the process fairly quick and painless.