Over the past two weeks, part of the Farmforce team—Hans Christian Fleischer (Chief Commercial Officer), Rodney Muriuki (Global Sales Director), and Nestor Barrientos (Regional Operations Manager)—toured Latin America to deepen relationships with customers and partners and engage in industry-shaping conversations at the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Partnership Meeting in São Paulo. The result? A renewed sense of purpose, shared vision, and momentum toward scaling sustainable traceability in the region’s cocoa and coffee sectors.
A Strategic Stop in Medellín: CNCh and A&D
Our first stop was Medellín, Colombia, where we had the pleasure of visiting Compañía Nacional de Chocolates (CNCh) and Albrecht & Dill—two Farmforce customers and long-time industry leaders in Latin America and Europe. Touring their facilities was a powerful reminder of the scale and ambition behind their traceability and sustainability efforts.
Together, we mapped out the next steps of our collaboration, including:
- Integrating traceability between CNCh and A&D to enable transparent, EUDR-ready sourcing,
- Supporting carbon measurement initiatives in CNCh’s operations,
- Expanding the program to Peru with CNCh’s extended supply chain,
- Reinforcing CNCh’s EUDR compliance capacity is a rising priority for all stakeholders.
“It was impressive to witness how seriously our partners in Colombia are approaching traceability—not just as a compliance exercise, but as a business enabler,” said Hans Christian Fleischer. “The level of strategic alignment with CNCh and A&D makes this partnership a model for impact at scale.”
In Lima: Progress with Romex and New Coffee Horizons
Next, we landed in Lima, Peru, to meet with Romex, our long-standing customer and a key cocoa exporter. The Romex team expressed intense satisfaction with Farmforce’s solutions and underlined their confidence in accelerating EUDR-readiness with our support.
We also explored the possibility of expanding our collaboration from cocoa to coffee, which would open exciting new opportunities in Peru, one of the region’s top coffee producers.
“Romex is proof that traceability isn’t just about data—it’s about empowering companies to act faster, smarter, and with confidence,” noted Rodney Muriuki. “We’re thrilled to support their ambitions across cocoa and potentially coffee.”
LatAm Priorities: Traceability, Compliance, and Quality
A recurring theme throughout our meetings was clear: traceability is the defining priority for cocoa stakeholders in Latin America. EUDR compliance is front and center for those exporting to Europe, driving significant investment in data capture, system integration, and farm-level transparency.
Unlike other cocoa-producing regions, Latin American markets appear less impacted by child labor and extreme poverty, shifting the focus to quality and post-harvest excellence. As a result, traceability solutions must be flexible, value-driven, and integrated into quality assurance frameworks—something Farmforce is uniquely positioned to deliver.
A Familiar Name in São Paulo: WCF Partnership Meeting
We concluded our journey at the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in São Paulo, a pivotal event gathering the global cocoa community. The conversations were—as always—rich, candid, and future-oriented. Whether it was about farmer resilience, EUDR readiness, or new sourcing strategies, it was clear that first-mile traceability remains a cornerstone of sustainable transformation.
What stood out this year was the number of stakeholders who already knew of Farmforce—even those we’ve never directly engaged. This recognition is a testament to our work’s growing visibility and impact in the cocoa supply chain.
Looking Ahead
Latin America is emerging as a traceability innovation hub, blending compliance goals with a deep-rooted commitment to quality. Our time in Colombia, Peru, and Brazil only reinforced our belief that tailored, transparent, and scalable digital tools are no longer a luxury but a necessity.
And we’re proud to be part of the journey.
