Cadbury Hello, can I help you?
Mktg Hi, I heard that Cadbury Dairy Milk is soon to become Fairtrade-certified and I was wondering what that actually means and whether the chocolate will taste different?
Cadbury No, it won't taste any different, it just means it's Fairtrade. I can send you a letter or email with all the details.
Mktg That would be great.
Cadbury Bear with me just a moment. What's your email
address, please?
Mktg [Gives email address.] So, what does it mean in terms of the other Cadbury brands, will those all be Fairtrade as well?
Cadbury Eventually, yes, they will.
Mktg But does it mean that they are unethical at the moment?
Cadbury What I'll do is send you the email and that will
explain in more detail.
Mktg Can I just ask, will the Fairtrade products be more
expensive?
Cadbury I don't think so, no - not that I'm aware of.
Mktg Thank you very much.
Cadbury Bye.
Verdict 6/10
Cadbury had clearly expected a number of enquiries about its focus on Fairtrade and had issued the call-handler with the relevant information to pass on to consumers. Although the call-handler did not try to explain what Fairtrade meant over the phone, I was happy,
in principle, to receive the information via email.
I was disappointed when no email arrived. However, the
call-handler had directed me to
the Cadbury website, where an informative press release was available. The company had also pre-recorded a webcast that dealt with a broad range of issues regarding the move to Fairtrade, including in-depth answers to all the questions I had asked on the phone.
While the Cadbury site is extremely impressive and will be constantly updated as other products achieve Fairtrade certification, it is, of course, no help to anyone without access to the internet.
A view from staff
We'll Call You - Cadbury
LONDON - Always eager for a sugar rush, we thought we'd ask Cadbury what making Dairy Milk Fairtrade-certified actually means - and whether it will affect the taste.