I don’t normally give Friday the 13th a second thought, not being superstitious it’s not really at the forefront of my mind each time it comes around. However today, Friday the 13th 2005 has started to worry me, perhaps there is something in it after all.
And what you are probably thinking is it that has been so devastating on this day? My favourite chocolate manufacturer Green & Black’s has been bought out by Cadbury Schweppes. The manufacturer of luxury organic chocolate has been bought by the manufacturer of vegetable fat in a bar. (
See news).
Today all my happy chocolate houses have tumbled into rubble. My chocolate heart is broken. My chocolate cup does not runneth over.
Now Green & Black’s is not widely known around the world, yet it’s evidently the UK’s fastest growing confectionery brand it’s sooooooooo good.
Dark chocolate with cherries, or ginger, or unadulterated at 70% cocoa. Or milk chocolate with butterscotch, or almonds. How about Maya Gold? Dark, spicy and Fairtrade. And their ice cream… don’t get me started.
Evidently the idea is that Green & Black’s will be able to expand internationally, and that’s good, right? Well yes it is, in a way, it means that more people will be able to eat good quality, organic chocolate, and eschew the fatty crap that makes up the majority of the chocolate market.
One of my worries, apart from maintaining quality issues, is that bar sizes will start to creep down, in an effort to make it look as if prices are staying stable. You must have noticed this trick over the years, all the lower quality manufacturers do it. At the moment opening a bar of Green & Black’s chocolate is a bit like Charlie opening his chocolate bar with the winning golden ticket in it. The wrapper is thick and silky promising hidden delights, the inner foil is shiny and crisp teasing you to rip it open. And the chocolate nestled inside is smooth, fragrant and oh so sexy.
So please, please, please don’t change what made Green & Black’s so good in the name of shareholders profits. Don’t spoil their organic pedigree, don’t cheapen their livery. There are a lot of dedicated Green & Black’s luxury organic chocolate fanatics out there who love it just the way it is.
I can’t go on, I need chocolate…
