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Fairtrade is one of the most recognisable, respected and trusted food logos of all. It has survived despite numerous alternative brands, Rainforest Alliance being the most recognised.

So I doubt Cocoa Life is any threat at all.

This sounds like an idea cooked up in a corporate HQ by people who have no understanding of the conscientious consumer. How many times have we seen big corps make big mistakes? If Coke can, anyone can.

Mondelez will have a serious challenge to convince the UK consumer that Cocoa Life is as credible. The first challenge is consumer don’t trust big brands, so gaining their trust is not going to be easy, especially for a brand like Mondelez.

The second is you can’t build trust overnight, even with a big marketing budget (even if the ad agency gets the messaging right, which is unlikely given the history of ethical marketing). It takes time to win trust.

Additionally, Cocoa Life’s proposition is too complicated and confusing to consumers, whereas the success of Fairtrade is that it sold a single minded message, despite the fact what it does is far broader. Fairtrade understands consumers.

My bet, they’ll be putting the Fairtrade logo back on the front of packs within a year.

Dr Chris Arnold. Author of Ethical Marketing & The new Consumer.
Founder of Creative Orchestra.