February sees the launch of special-edition packaging for the chocolate bar, featuring the words 'Celebrate 10 years'. As well as the limited-edition 100g bar, Green & Black's is bringing out a Maya Gold Easter egg.
All special packaging will include information on the brand's project in Belize, which has been set up to develop the Fairtrade cocoa market in the south of the country.
The project has been made possible by a £225,000 grant from the UK Department for International Development.
The project team based in Belize will teach farmers how to grow high-quality cacao, with the objective of increasing production from 30 tonnes to 200 tonnes in three years. This would increase the amount going into the local economy each year from £35,000 to £240,000.
Maya Gold/Fairtrade sampling kits will be distributed in Oxfam stores nationwide during Fairtrade fortnight, which takes place from March 1 to 14. These comprise sample chocolate, posters, leaflets and point-of-sale materials. At the same time, a point-of-sale poster campaign will run in UK health food shops.
Maya Gold chocolate was the first product to receive the Fairtrade mark, in 1994. For this reason, Green & Black's cacao grower Saul Garcia will feature in posters marking the tenth anniversary of the Fairtrade mark.
The organic chocolate brand is understood to have a tactical partnership with an unnamed luxury London department store for this year.
Maya Gold - a mixture of dark chocolate, spices and orange essence - is made from beans grown by the Maya Indians in Belize. It is one of 140 Fairtrade products on sale in the UK.
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