For more than a century, Mars has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a family-owned business, Mars has defined success as not only strong financial performance, but also quality growth, strong and trusting relationships with stakeholders, and making a positive societal impact.
One area where Mars embodies this definition of success is in its work across the cocoa supply chain. Cocoa is a major ingredient for Mars – it is used to produce 29 chocolate brands and is essential to the livelihoods of 40-50 million people worldwide. For years, Mars has been making strides to protect cocoa, future-proofing the plant through research and innovation to support the more than 350,000 farming families who grow and harvest the crop in our supply chain.
Beyond safeguarding the cocoa crop, Mars is also committed to supporting its cocoa growing communities, particularly women who play an integral part in the cocoa supply chain.
Why women? The empowerment of women and girls in the cocoa supply chain catalyzes progress towards increasing incomes, protecting human rights and preserving forests. Mars envisions a world where cocoa farming is truly inclusive, where resources are offered in a non-discriminatory manner and accessible to all cocoa farmers regardless of gender, and where women and girls in cocoa farming communities can reach their full potential.
To make that vision a reality, Mars has teamed up with CARE to create the ‘Women for Change’ program. The Women for Change model, which originated in Côte d’Ivoire and grounded in a proven theory of change, is unique and innovative as it builds on CARE’s traditional Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA) approach. This approach empowers participants to increase access and control over resources and use collective power to overcome social and financial barriers and extends further with interventions in four complementary areas Financial Inclusion, Entrepreneurship, Gender Equity, and Healthy Families.
Encouraged by these proven results, in 2020, Mars committed to scale up model with an additional investment of $10 million, including an expansion of the model to Ghana. The program has already exceeded its initial targets by reaching more than 80,000 W4C VSLA members by the end of 2022 and expects to reach 100,000 by the end of 2023.
Mars has also spotlighted its support of women in the cocoa supply chain in campaigns for well-known brands like Dove Galaxy. In 2023, Dove Galaxy pledged to help one million people including women, their families and their communities thrive by 2030. The ambitious commitment signifies a new purpose for the beloved chocolate brand that will focus on women empowerment within cocoa growing communities and Dove Galaxy retail markets. To highlight this significant move, Mars introduced a global campaign featuring authentic and empowering stories from women around the world and the positive impact they have on their communities.
Mars is incredibly inspired by the impact made thus far and firmly believe that an unwavering commitment to ensuring a thriving cocoa supply chain is critical to our purpose. Together, we can create a more sustainable future for our planet and the people that rely on these natural ecosystems to thrive for generations to come.
