Nestlé Canada - Unwrap Some Good Campaign

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Nestlé Canada in Toronto’s historic Sterling Road Factory. This factory is one of Canada’s oldest and largest confection production facilities established in 1890 – where Kit Kat, Smarties, Coffee Crisp and other Nestlé classics are locally made for over 120 years. During this tour of the factory, we also learned a lot about Nestlé‘s Unwrap Some Good Campaign – an initiative to share Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan with the public. The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is a global initiative that helps tackle key issues facing cocoa farmers, their families and communities to create a better future for cocoa farming.

By working closely with farming co-op and paying a premium for quality, Nestlé is reducing the complexity of its supply chain, improving returns to farmers and enhancing the quality of cocoa it uses in its products. The Cocoa Plan provides farmers with training to improve agricultural practices that help to distribute higher-yielding and disease-resistant cocoa plants. As well, it works to support women farmers and improves access to education for children.

Key Facts about Cocoa Plan:

Nestlé Canada uses 100% UTZ certified sustainable cocoa, sourced through The Cocoa Plan, to craft some of the most loved products in Canada
Through the global Nestlé Cocoa Plan 2.16 million high yield cocoa plants were grown and distributed and 57,000 farmers were trained in fields school in 2016
Through the global Cocoa Plan, Nestlé has committed to investing over $150 million in the communities in which it operates in between 2010 and 2019
Through the Cocoa Plan, Nestlé global will:
- Distribute 12 million high-yield, disease resistant cocoa plants by 2019
- Source 230,000 tonnes of sustainable cocoa by 2020
- Build or refurbish 40 schools
- Educate more than 35, 000 community members on child labour issues

Key Facts about Nestlé Canada:

3,500 employees in Canada, in approximately 20 facilities across the country
$2.3 billion in Canadian sales (2014)
Today, 95% of Canadian households contain a Nestlé product; everything from chocolates and confectionery, to coffee and beverages, to ice cream and frozen desserts and pet care products
Nestlé is a Canadian market leader in several categories, including bottled water, confectionery, frozen pizza, ice cream, soluble coffee and pet food (Purina)

Key Facts about Sterling Road Factory:

The facility employs more than 500 individuals living in the Greater Toronto Area
Only sustainable cocoa soured through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan is used at the factory
100% of landfill waste of the factory is diverted to an electrical co-generation plant
It has been a peanut-free facility since 2001
Confectionery treats are produced up to 24 hours a day, 364 days a year (closed Christmas)
Some of Canada’s favourites confectionery brands originate from Sterling Road, including Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, Smarties and Aero
On an annual basis, Sterling Road produces 18,000 tonnes of confectionery products

Our exciting tour consisted of visiting 4 different floors of the factory. Each floor produced a different brand of chocolate. After putting on some head to toe gear, and swapping our equipment for traces of peanut – we were taken away to have a closer look how each of our favourite brand of chocolate are produced! Please enjoy the photos from our tour 🙂