Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

What Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa does

SWISSCO (Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa) is a Bern-based multi-stakeholder initiative founded in 2018 that coordinates action among the cocoa and chocolate industry, public sector, NGOs, and research institutes to advance sustainability in the Swiss cocoa value chain. Its core product is a coordination platform — not a commercial technology — comprising working groups on living income, human rights, forests and agroforestry, traceability, and monitoring, plus a binding Roadmap 2030 (fully revised in June 2025) with six measurable ambitions. Primary deliverables include annual import data (92% of cocoa bean equivalents imported into Switzerland were sustainably sourced in 2025, up from 84% in 2024), SECO-co-financed member projects, international dialogue with producing-country authorities in West Africa, Central Africa, and Latin America, and a programme of Cocoa Tertulia webinars and an annual general meeting that in 2026 drew around 200 representatives.

SWISSCO is funded through membership contributions and government co-financing from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO); revenue is not publicly disclosed. The association is governed by a Board led by President Filippo Veglio and operated by a small professional Coordination Office of 1-10 employees under Managing Director Christian Robin. Since 2024, the office has been shared with the newly launched Swiss Sustainable Coffee Platform (SSCP), and was further reorganized in January 2026. Its business model is association-based rather than commercial: there are no paid products, no pricing tiers, and no traditional GTM motion. Rather, value is delivered to members via convening, knowledge exchange, project co-financing, and representation in European networks (ISCO, CFI, ICI) and regulatory preparation (EU Forced Labour Regulation).

Name

Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

Legal name

Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

Website

https://kakaoplattform.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SWISSCO is a Swiss multi-stakeholder initiative coordinating the cocoa industry, public sector, NGOs, and research institutes to advance sustainable cocoa imports into Switzerland, targeting 100% sustainable sourcing by 2030 through working groups, SECO-co-financed projects, and knowledge exchange.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable cocoa multi-stakeholder coordination services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI), Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing (SMETA, supplier ESG) (EUAHAJAE), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Sustainable cocoa platform
• Multi-stakeholder initiative
• Cocoa value chain
• Sustainability coordination
• Commodity sustainability governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) is a multi-stakeholder association that coordinates industry, public sector, NGOs, and research institutes around six strategic ambitions in the cocoa value chain: Living Income, Human Rights & Fair Working Conditions, No Deforestation, Promotion of Agroforestry, Climate Action, and Traceability and Transparency. It delivers knowledge exchange through topic-specific working groups, co-finances innovative member projects with SECO funding, conducts studies (e.g., Cocoa Household Income Study in Ghana), coordinates member reporting on sustainable cocoa imports, and represents Switzerland in the European ISCO network of national sustainable cocoa initiatives.

Product overview

The Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) operates as a multi-stakeholder initiative rather than a traditional product company. It provides a coordination platform that facilitates collaboration among industry actors, civil society, research, and public sector stakeholders to advance sustainability in the cocoa value chain. The initiative offers services including network and knowledge exchange, project co-financing through SECO, international collaboration with producing countries, and transparent reporting on sustainable cocoa imports. Key deliverables include the Roadmap 2030 with six strategic ambitions, member surveys, annual reports, and studies on topics such as living income, child labor, traceability, agroforestry, and climate action.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of cocoa bean equivalents imported into Switzerland came from sustainable production in 2025, up from 84% in 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Swiss Sustainable Coffee Platform (SSCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2026The Cocoa Platform (founded 2018) shares its existing coordination office with the Coffee Platform launched in 2024. Both pursue shared goals: living income for farming families, human rights respect along supply chains, and environmentally sustainable cultivation. The shared coordination office creates strategic added value through efficient resource use and increased member impact. The two platforms remain independent initiatives supported by a professionally structured coordination office.
• Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025SWISSCO members participate as signatories in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), an industry-wide effort to eliminate deforestation from cocoa supply chains. Starbucks, among other platform members, participates in CFI as part of its responsible sourcing commitments.
• International Cocoa Initiative (ICI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025SWISSCO members participate as signatories in the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), which focuses on protecting children's rights and eliminating child labor in cocoa-growing communities. Platform members engage with ICI programs and standards.
• State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSECO is the Swiss government's participation in the association and co-finances innovative projects by platform members to improve living conditions of cocoa farmers and protect natural resources. SECO coordinates funding and participates in governance.
• Forum Nachhaltiger Kakao (Germany)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform facilitates knowledge exchange with partner initiatives in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Joint activities include events such as the ISM Cologne 2025 session on living income solutions for SMEs in the cocoa sector.
• Belgian, Dutch, and French cocoa sustainability platformsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe platform participates in topic-specific working groups together with members of partner initiatives in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, enabling cross-border knowledge sharing and coordination.
• NestlécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNestlé is a founding member of both SWISSCO and SSCP platforms. The company hosted the joint annual general meeting of both platforms in Vevey, bringing together around 200 representatives from business, civil society, research and public sector.
• Equal OriginsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform member that launched the Gender Equity Learning & Innovation Network (GENLIN) in collaboration with SWISSCO, addressing gender equity challenges in cocoa supply chains.
• COCOBOD (Ghana Cocoa Board)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWISSCO conducted a Cocoa Household Income Study in Ghana together with COCOBOD, presenting findings that inform living income strategies.
• Alliance on Living IncomemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint hosting of webinars on cocoa household income studies and living income benchmarks, with participation in member surveys to track sustainability efforts.
• ISCO (International Sustainable Cocoa Initiatives)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWISSCO participates in the network of National Initiatives for Sustainable Cocoa in Europe (ISCOs), coordinating working groups on living income, child labor, forests/agroforestry, traceability, and monitoring.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO's DIGICHILD Initiative, a geospatial tool for identifying and addressing child labour risks, was presented in a joint webinar. SWISSCO is exploring collaboration opportunities on new pilots through project mechanisms.
• World Cocoa Foundation (WCF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWCF collaborated with Quantis on a Cocoa Tertulia about GHG accounting standards for the cocoa sector, bringing industry expertise to climate action efforts.
• ClarmondialminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClarmondial organized a Cocoa Tertulia on financing the transition to regenerative agriculture practices, contributing expertise on agricultural financing mechanisms.
• Peace Dividend InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on a Cocoa Tertulia titled 'Peace Chocolate: Transforming conflict-affected areas through cocoa', exploring peacebuilding through cocoa supply chains.
• ISEAL AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISEAL's Evidensia platform was presented in a webinar, providing open-access research synthesis on market-based approaches to sustainability challenges in cocoa and coffee sectors.
• Berner Fachhochschule (BFH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented findings from a Swiss-Ecuadorian study on circular bioeconomy opportunities for cocoa by-products, involving over 1,000 cocoa farmers and 23 stakeholders.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Rainforest Alliance: Major sustainability certification body (FSC/UTZ legacy) that issues cocoa sustainability standards; one of the recognised certification schemes SWISSCO tracks when measuring 92% sustainable imports.
• World Cocoa Foundation (WCF): Global industry-wide cocoa sustainability platform with broader geographic scope than SWISSCO; collaborates with SWISSCO via Cocoa Tertulia webinars (e.g., GHG accounting with Quantis).

Others

• Fairtrade International: Sets fair-trade certification standards widely used in Swiss cocoa imports. Functions as an enabling standards body whose certification output SWISSCO aggregates into its import reporting.

Direct peers

• Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (IDH): Dutch national cocoa sustainability initiative referenced as a SWISSCO partner platform; IDH also convenes multi-stakeholder commodity programs with similar public-private-NGO governance.
• ISCO Network (International Sustainable Cocoa Initiatives): Network of European national cocoa sustainability initiatives in which SWISSCO is a member, coordinating working groups on living income, child labor, forests, traceability, and monitoring.
• Forum Nachhaltiger Kakao: German multi-stakeholder platform for sustainable cocoa. Explicitly listed by SWISSCO as a core partner initiative with joint working groups and events (e.g., ISM Cologne 2025 living-income session), making it the closest functional peer.
• Swiss Sustainable Coffee Platform (SSCP): Sibling Swiss multi-stakeholder initiative for sustainable coffee; shares SWISSCO's coordination office since 2024 and runs a parallel Roadmap 2030 with the same six ambitions.
• Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Cocoa: Belgian national multi-stakeholder cocoa sustainability initiative. Named as a core SWISSCO partner platform with which it runs joint topic-specific working groups across European ISCO network.

Emerging players

• Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI): Industry-led deforestation initiative for cocoa supply chains. SWISSCO members (including Starbucks) participate as CFI signatories, giving thematic overlap on the 'No Deforestation' Roadmap 2030 ambition.
• International Cocoa Initiative (ICI): Focused multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to child labor and human rights in cocoa; SWISSCO members participate as ICI signatories, making it a thematic rather than geographic peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cocoaplatform

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa