RMG 912 - FALL 2021

Retail Management– Sustainability and Social Change l

ASSIGNMENT - REFLECTION #2

ISSUES FACING RETAILERS

Submitted by:

Submitted to:

Juan Marcelo Gomez

Ted Rogers School of Retail Management

Reflection
A topic I found most interesting is the difference in care of the cocoa beans when comparing

Tribe Chocolate bean farmer and an ordinary chocolate brand farmer. Eric spoke about how his

fellow bean farmer knows everything about his trees and beans. He knows exactly when they are

perfect and ready to be harvested. As well as if a batch is not up to his satisfaction he won't use

them, this is known as sufficient quality control. Tribe Chocolates bean farmers clearly care

more about quality than quantity, which is an essential trait to have when selling a product that

has a high level of taste.On the other hand bean farmers of regular brands care more about

quantity. An important thing to mention is Tribe Chocolate has minimal ingredients so it is

important that they get the beans right, where brands like KitKat add lots of other things to the

bar. Along with the fact it is really cheap. in turn they do not care as much about its quality. I

just thought this was really interesting to know the level of pride and care Tribe chocolate

farmers take in growing their beans. Although it makes sense, a more expensive bar there should

likely be more quality, though the difference between growing the bean and knowing the bean

makes all the difference. I thought the way they and their farmers take pride in the beans and

chocolate they make really reflects the quality. Each bar is made with such detail and care that

they all come out looking and tasting great. This is evident in their packaging and story, unlike

brands like Hershey who just pump out chocolate because they know it will sell. Tribe

Chocolate goes the extra mile to create a unique experience for you when you receive your

products, and when you take your first bite. The difference between big brands' stories and

comparing it with what I heard at Tribe Chocolate was a really great experience to learn about

quality.
How this related to other classes, the first one that stuck out to me is when we watched videos

and discussed the cotton industry. Like chocolate cotton has different quality levels depending

on how it was produced. As well as the most notable similarity is the slave labour used to make

each of these products. This also reminds me of when we spoke about in week 2; Driving the

value creation process. Tribe Chocolate in many ways has created value to their company. Such

as making high quality chocolate that looks and tastes great, providing a product scheme where

the product is from different places which is great to provide a competitive advantage. As well

as how they source the chocolate. For the most part all the chocolate we consume day to day is

made using slave labour. As some of the world’s most famous brands such as Hershey, Nestle,

and Mars Bar use slave labour in the growing of their cocoa beans. Creating a competitive edge

helps your company to explain the reasoning for the higher prices and this is because it is made

sustainably and of high quality beans.

These topics are so important for retail as sustainability is everything. Not only manufacturing

your products in an ethical and sustainable way but also understanding what will make your

company be able to sustain and function for years to come. As we know society is moving

towards looking for more eco friendly traits in the brand they choose to shop from. This has to

do with slave labour which is a big issue in the cocoa bean growing. People are trying not to

shop at stores who exploit children, people, etc. Though some just simply do not care. As a retail

management student and pursuing a career in it I must understand how to create an ethical

business that consumers will agree with and want to buy from. Knowing the laws is also very

important because if I were to break one it would likely end in a lawsuit. By using unsustainable

business practices like child and slave labour which is very evident in the cocoa bean farming/

chocolate industry could also hurt the brands image causing consumers to look elsewhere.