In five European countries, Lidl will convert its entire fixed range of chocolate bars under its own brands to a new Fairtrade Living Wage program. The supermarket will bear the additional costs itself.
Fixed surcharge
Starting in March 2026, Lidl and Fairtrade will launch this partnership in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Austria for the chocolate bars of the private labels Fin Carré, J.D. Gross, and Vemondo. The discounter has committed to the program for at least five years, regardless of market fluctuations. The supermarket chain will bear the additional costs in full, without passing them on to customers.
The new program builds on existing Fairtrade standards and deliberately goes a step further: in addition to the Fairtrade minimum price, the premium, and the Living Income Reference Price (LIRP), Lidl pays an extra fixed surcharge per ton of cocoa, known as the Booster. These funds help cocoa farmers increase their productivity and broaden their income. The impact of the program is monitored through baseline measurements carried out by Fairtrade.
Fairer income
After a transition period starting in March, the Booster will apply to the entire standard range of chocolate bars under Lidl’s own brands from August 2026. The new packaging is expected in early 2027. “Anyone who buys a chocolate bar automatically contributes to a fairer income for cocoa farmers,” says Lidl.
The retailer has been committed to improving conditions in the cocoa chain for more than ten years. In 2014, Lidl was one of the first partners in the Fairtrade raw materials program for cocoa. With the introduction of its own brand Way To Go, in collaboration with Fairtrade, Lidl committed to a living income for farmers in 2020. Since the start of the project, more than 2,200 cocoa farmers in Ghana have benefited from an additional premium and investments in agricultural projects thanks to Way To Go chocolate. All private label chocolate bars have been Fairtrade certified since the end of 2022.
