Our Story
How a commitment to fairness, at the farm and with every buyer, grew into an ethical cocoa supplier trusted in more than 47 countries.
radadPrologue
Every bar of chocolate starts in the same place: a cocoa tree, a farmer, and months of patient work. Pods are harvested by hand, opened, fermented and dried in the sun long before the beans ever reach a factory.
It is careful, skilled work. Yet for generations, most of the people who do it have received only a small share of what their cocoa is worth. The value is added further down the chain, in factories and on shelves thousands of miles away, while the communities that grow the crop see little of it.
Radad International began with that imbalance in mind.
Chapter I
In 2018, we looked closely at how cocoa moved from African farms to the rest of the world. Demand was strong and the chocolate industry was worth billions, yet the farmers at the start of the chain, many of them smallholders across West Africa, were often the last to benefit.
In a 2020 report by the Financial Times, Ghana's President blamed a colonial legacy for the imbalance: producing nations export raw beans while the value is captured elsewhere. Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire together grow about two-thirds of the world's cocoa, yet Ghana earns around US$2 billion a year from the crop, less than one-fiftieth of the value of the chocolate made from it, in a global industry worth more than US$100 billion.
Source: Financial Times, via YaleGlobal Online ↗Buyers faced a gap of their own. Good cocoa was plentiful, but reliable, well-documented supply was hard to find. Quality changed from one shipment to the next, paperwork arrived incomplete, and honest communication was rare.
We believed both problems had the same answer: a supplier that dealt fairly at the farm and honestly with the buyer.
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Fair at the farm. Honest with the buyer. Consistent in every shipment.
The principle Radad International was built on
Chapter II
We began by building relationships rather than transactions. We worked directly with farmers, cooperatives and processors, paid fairly for quality, and came back season after season. Those relationships grew into a sourcing network that now spans six cocoa-growing countries: Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Steady, fairly priced demand gives farming communities room to plan and to invest in better harvesting, fermentation and drying. Better care after harvest means better beans, and better beans mean a more consistent product for the people who buy them. Fairness at the farm and quality at the factory turned out to be the same goal.
Chapter III
Whole cocoa beans came first. As our clients' needs grew, so did our range. Chocolate makers asked for nibs and cocoa mass. Bakeries and beverage producers needed natural and alkalized powders. Confectioners and cosmetic brands wanted natural and deodorized cocoa butter. We added cocoa shells and pods for agricultural and food uses, then shea butter and 100% dark chocolate bars.
Today we supply eleven products, in volumes that range from a single trial batch to several tonnes a month, for wholesale and retail buyers alike.
Explore Our Products
Chapter IV
What began as a commitment to fair, reliable cocoa now serves more than 200 clients in over 47 countries, from artisan chocolatiers and bakeries to industrial food manufacturers and distributors. Many have been with us since their first trial order. They stay for the same reasons they came: cocoa that matches the sample, documents that are complete, prices that hold, and a team that answers.
2018
The Year It Began
6
African Origins
200+
Clients Served
47+
Countries Supplied
Chapter V
Our Mission
To empower farmers through fair trade and sustainable practices, while delivering premium cocoa to the world with integrity and excellence.
Our Vision
To be known for ethical sourcing, social responsibility and environmental stewardship, and for setting new standards of quality in everything we supply.
Epilogue
Every shipment we send adds a new chapter. Each one carries the work of farming families and the trust of a buyer who is counting on us, and we take both seriously.
If you share our belief that great cocoa should be fair from the farm to the factory, we would be glad to write the next chapter with you.
The Radad International Team
Work With Us
Tell us the product, grade and volume you need, and we'll come back with a clear quote.
Request a Quote Chat on WhatsApp Or call +971 52 250 1039