A Message from Our CEO

As 2024 comes to a close, I would like to thank everyone that has supported Alter Eco Foods over the past year. We have experienced significant growth amidst a number of adverse weather conditions on a global basis. Again, much like 2023, we have seen records set with climate change. We will close out 2024 with the warmest year on record, breaking the prior record set only last year. Preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows global temperatures increasing between 2.7 and 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit in 2024. This is well above the expected increases and is continuing to have severe impacts on agriculture around the world.

 As you may have seen in the news, the changes in climate have had a significant impact on the production of cacao on a global scale. Approximately 60% of all cacao production comes from the western coast of Africa. In these regions, the majority of production comes from farms that have practiced mono-culture farming for decades, clear cutting natural fields and forests and instead planting cacao trees. With the increase in temperatures and erratic rainfall, the resulting cacao production has declined as much as 30% or more across most of Africa. Mono-culture farming has exacerbated these extreme weather conditions since the cacao fields don’t have the protection of other higher growing trees to provide shade and lower growing plants to provide nitrogen and organic matter for the soil. This decline in production has led to skyrocketing prices and extreme uncertainty in the cacao market. We have seen prices go from approximately $4,000 / Metric Ton to over $12,800 / Metric Ton in 2024. This 200%+ increase has led to all chocolate companies being forced to take a significant price increase to continue to supply products to consumers.  

 At Alter Eco Foods, we have been fortunate to have relationships with our farmers and cooperatives in Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Peru for over a decade.  Additionally, more and more of our farmers and cooperatives are transitioning to or continue developing dynamic agroforestry practices to ensure the availability of crops now and in the future. Dynamic agroforestry is an environment where cacao plants coexist with plantain trees, timber trees, passionfruit vines, mango bushes, and other ground cover plants. This type of farming protects and nurtures the cacao plants as well as providing the farmers with additional income sources from the other fruits. As we start to prepare for our annual Regeneration Report, we are anticipating an increase over past years in the percentage of our cacao beans that are sourced from farms practicing regenerative agriculture or dynamic agroforestry. As other countries, including those in Africa, transition to regenerative farming, we will see increases in yields and a leveling of prices. However, this will take many years and significant financial commitments throughout this transition.  

 As always, at Alter Eco Foods, we strive to provide our consumers with the best tasting, most ethically sourced and most stainable product possible. This goes beyond our sourcing of cacao and includes our raw materials for our quinoa and our granola line. Our oats used in our granola are from regenerative agriculture farms. And of course, our commitment to sustainability also includes our packaging. From our granola bags made with post-consumer recycled plastics, to our backyard compostable truffle wrappers that were highlighted by Whole Foods Market in their 2025 Trends Report.  We will continue to look for ways to honor our commitment to you, our customers and partners, to bring you “The Cleanest Greenest Snacks on Earth!^TM.  

Thank you for all your support of Alter Eco Foods and our continued mission to improve the world one bar of chocolate at a time! 

We wish you a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous 2025!

Keith Bearden

Alter Eco Foods CEO