Chocs the way for Sophi Tranchell

Sophi Tranchell MBE, md of the farmer-owned chocolate company Divine, has received the Good Deals Pioneer Award.

Good Deals, the UK’s leading social investment conference, is this year inaugurating the Pioneers Awards for social enterprise leaders who have made a significant and lasting contribution to positive social change.
Dr Sakeena Yakoobi founder of Afghan Institute of Learning, and Sir Ronald Cohen, chair of Big Society Capital, are also receiving Good Deals Pioneer Awards.

Good Deals, now in its sixth year, is attended by social innovators from across sectors and across the world, bringing social entrepreneurs and investors together “to get good deals done”.

Sophi Tranchell was appointed md of Divine Chocolate Ltd after it was first set up in 1998. She has been responsible for establishing the business in the mainstream chocolate market, and personally has been one of the most prominent champions of both Fairtrade and social enterprise over the last 14 years.

Divine has won a number of awards for its success as a social enterprise, and has been a powerful catalyst for change in the chocolate market – paving the way for the major chocolate companies to make first moves towards Fairtrade.

Tranchell chairs the Fairtrade London Steering Committee which campaigned successfully to secure Fairtrade City status for London five years ago, and she is on the London Food Board. In 2009 she was made an MBE for services to the food industry.

“It is a privilege to be a social enterprise pioneer and to catalyse change around you. I hope Divine Chocolate will continue to raise the bar,” Tranchell commented.