Freia
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Norway's best-known chocolate brand, maker of Kvikk Lunsj.
Freia is rated as part of a company that got the Bad Egg award in the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a failing or very low rating (Chocolate Scorecard Bad Egg award in 2026, for the company it's rated with). Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its cocoa is grown: worker rights are poorly protected in Ecuador, Cameroon and Nigeria.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksUnconfirmed reports of child labour are listed below. They don't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Finds and fixes child labour on cocoa farms (Fairtrade, Fair for Life or its own published monitoring), and traces other high-risk ingredients (hazelnuts) where they're a major part of its range
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: Chocolate Scorecard Bad Egg award (2026, the company it's rated with)
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where its cocoa is grown
These are its parent group's cocoa origins across all its brands; Freia doesn't say where its own cocoa is grown. The rest is shown as where cocoa is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ghana | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| CameroonUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| NigeriaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: an estimated 1.5 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and most cocoa farmers earn well below a living income.
- Modern slavery statement
- Invests in worker and farming communities
- It doesn't show that it checks cocoa farms for child labour and fixes what it finds.
- Uses hazelnuts in only a few products and doesn't show where they come from. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes Freia chocolate is made mainly in Oslo from cocoa that Mondelēz says went 100% through its in-house Cocoa Life programme in 2025, and Freia bars carry the Cocoa Life mark. Cocoa Life is not independently certified, works on a mass-balance basis and runs mainly in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire; Freia's origin shares are not published, so Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are shown without shares. Child labour monitoring covers about all West African Cocoa Life communities, but no case counts or farmer incomes are published. The plain milk chocolate has no palm oil; Firkløver and other nut bars contain hazelnuts, with no origin given.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Scorecard | Problem found | Mondelēz declined to take part in the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard (7th edition) and received its Bad Egg award; it scored 10%, the lowest tier, in 2025. View |
| KnowTheChain | Listed | Mondelēz rose into the top 10 of the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Mondelēz Australia lodges annual modern slavery statements naming West African cocoa as a high-risk area. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire is listed for child and forced labour and cocoa from Ghana for child labour. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Tracks a 2023 class action by International Rights Advocates against Mondelēz, Mars and Cargill over child labour on Ghanaian cocoa farms. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Mondelēz publishes an annual group Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery report adopted by its UK entities. View |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- A 2022 Channel 4 Dispatches investigation filmed children as young as 10 using machetes on Ghanaian cocoa farms in Mondelēz's Cocoa Life programme; Mondelēz rejected any suggestion it benefits from child labour and asked for details to investigate. Source
- In November 2023 International Rights Advocates sued Mondelēz, Mars and Cargill in Washington D.C. on behalf of Ghanaian children who say they worked on cocoa farms; the court denied the companies' motions to dismiss in 2026 and the case remains undecided. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Mondelēz shows uneven gains on 2025 sustainable sourcing goals (Supply Chain Dive, 2026) · search the archive · 100% of cocoa for Mondelēz chocolate brands via Cocoa Life in 2025
- Freia Milk Chocolate 60g (Norwegian Foodstore) · search the archive · Ingredients: sugar, milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, no palm oil; maker Mondelez Norge, Oslo; ships worldwide including Australia
- Firkløver (Store norske leksikon) · search the archive · Materials: Firkløver is Freia milk chocolate with chopped hazelnuts, one of a few nut lines
- Mondelēz International scales up human rights due diligence (June 2026) · search the archive · About 100% of ~2,300 West African Cocoa Life communities covered by child labour monitoring in 2025; no case counts
- Mondelēz Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery 2025 Report · search the archive · Group modern slavery statement covering cocoa, hazelnut and palm oil risks
- Store norske leksikon: Freia – sjokoladefabrikk · search the archive · Founded 1889 at Rodeløkka, Oslo; part of Kraft from 1993, now Mondelēz Norge; production in Oslo
- Cocoa Life: Brands · search the archive · Freia is listed as a Cocoa Life brand: 'Freia is proud to be part of investing in the future of cocoa farmers'
Company details
- Owned by
- Mondelēz International
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Freia ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/freia, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Freia.