Montezuma’s

How ethical and sustainable is Montezuma’s?

Appearing in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Chocolate Ratings Table Montezuma’s is a Paramount Retail Group brand that has not yet met our ethical benchmark. We hope that it will make the necessary changes in the future in order to meet our benchmark and operate as an ethical company.

Find out why ethical Chocolate is important and compare Montezuma to other brands in our Ethical Chocolate Ratings Table.

What does Montezuma do? 

Montezuma began in 2000 in Brighton by a pair of lawyers after they had camped out in a cocoa plantation. Montezuma now has export operations to 25 countries. Find out more about its story. Montezuma offers a range of products including chocolate buttons, chocolate bars, truffles and drinking chocolate. It also offers a vegan chocolate range but this is not certified.

For which criteria does Montezuma perform poorly? 

Montezuma receives a bottom rating for Organic and Fairtrade, as none of its products are certified as either organic or Fairtrade.

It also receives a middle rating for Environmental Report, as although it does have some sustainability commitments, it does not go into enough detail to achieve a top rating.

In what areas does Montezuma’s score well for its ethics? 

Montezuma scores well in Animal Welfare, it has no link to Political Donations, Armaments or Public Record Criticisms.

How can Montezuma’s improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide looks at three main research criteria, Environment, People and Animals, to calculate a brand’s ethical rating. To find out more about our research methodology, see our How We Rate page.

Despite Montezuma’s progress, the brand still has other areas for improvement. The brand could improve by having more ethical products; the brand does currently offer vegetarian and vegan chocolate but this is n0t certified and Montezuma’s is also not a supplier of Fairtrade chocolate. By refusing to offer these products, Montezuma’s are not supporting the farmers of the cocoa beans and ensuring they receive fair compensation for their work; read more on why Fairtrade chocolate is important.

For Montezuma’s to qualify for Ethical Accreditation it must meet the minimum ethical benchmark set, the brand should set out targets to work towards to operate as ethically as possible as well as look into producing Fairtrade chocolate to ensure that the cocoa farmers receive what they deserve.

If you’re interested in how your company or brand could benefit from Ethical Accreditation, get in touch or fill out our Free Initial Assessment form.