ABOUT US
CHOCOA [pronounced: cho-ko-wa] is an annual marketplace for cocoa and chocolate for quality and sustainability: A place where cocoa and chocolate are traded, new business contacts are made, and existing ones reinforced. Where research results, new innovations, ideas, and concepts are shared.
Organized by Equipoise in cooperation with the Chocolate Festival Foundation, CHOCOA contributes to a world with more good, sustainable cocoa: The basis for better chocolate.
A world in which the production of cocoa is good for farmers, their communities, and the environment alike. One where good quality chocolate is available to environmentally conscious chocolate lovers everywhere. With this in mind, we started CHOCOA in 2012.
Since then, the event has grown from a small chocolate festival with less than 20 stands at the Maritime Museum to an internationally recognized business event.
In 2020 CHOCOA boasted over 150 exhibitors and over 1500 professional visitors. When Chocoa went virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, we took the quality and sustainability discussion online with over 600 participants, setting a new industry standard for virtual events. In 2022 we organised a 3 days live event again for professionals, a hybrid version including a live trade fair. We are now looking forward to meeting you in February 2024.
The goal has remained: Together, we bring progress to sustainability and create consumer awareness to develop the market for sustainable cocoa and chocolate. Now, you can enjoy multiple days of conferences, forums, and partner programs in the heart of Amsterdam, facilitating knowledge exchange, networking, and plenty of business opportunities.
Jack Steijn and Caroline Lubbers have founded Equipoise to contribute to a fair market outcome for all stakeholders in the cocoa value chain. Focusing on market-driven programs, Equipoise excels at projects safeguarding the continuity of the cocoa supply chains, which can only be achieved through sustainable practices.
Besides organizing CHOCOA, the Amsterdam Sustainable Cocoa Conference, and the Chocolate Makers’ Forum, Equipoise launched the European Markets Academy in 2016 and the Cocoa Export Training in 2018. Both programs offer support for market access and prepare participants for the difficulties of exporting cocoa to the European market.
As consultants, Equipoise is working on the Cocoa Origins Program in cooperation with IDH. Small volume cocoa users are supported to develop sustainability projects at the origin of their supply chains, linked to the Dutch market.
Further, Equipoise executed projects together with INSEAD of Fontainebleau and Port of Amsterdam International, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI), the International Trade Center (ITC), Solidaridad and GROW Liberia, part of Adam Smith International and Color Cacao.
Equipoise has experience working on sustainability projects worldwide, including Cameroun, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru, and Sierra Leone.