Guylian
On Track. Pays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 10 sources
Lotte-owned Belgian maker of seashell praline chocolates.
Guylian's Belgian seashell chocolates use Fairtrade certified cocoa, which comes with a minimum price for farmers and audits for child and forced labour.
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Why it's graded On Track
- Not met: Meets 5 of 6 Good requirements.
- Met: No red flags.
Good requirements 5 of 6
- Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: strong fair-pay scheme (Fairtrade)
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listFully certified by Fairtrade, which holds and audits the list of farms. Guylian doesn't publish its own.
- 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 rangeNot traced or certified: hazelnuts
Red flags 0
None found.
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Accreditations 1
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Guylian's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
Chocolate: On Track, the same as Guylian overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its cocoa is grown
Guylian is fully certified by Fairtrade, which holds and audits its list of farms, but we haven't yet recorded where its cocoa is grown. Until we do, this shows where cocoa is usually grown.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | 45% | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ghana | 25% | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Ecuador | 10% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Cameroon | 10% | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Nigeria | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Doesn't show where its hazelnuts come from. Hazelnuts are linked to child labour and very low pay on Turkish hazelnut farms, so it can't be graded Good until it traces or certifies them.
Research notes Since its 2022 switch, Guylian has bought all its cocoa on Fairtrade terms. Fairtrade ANZ lists it in Australia. The Fairtrade label covers the cocoa only, not the finished chocolates: sugar and other ingredients are not Fairtrade, and mass balance means certified cocoa can be mixed with uncertified cocoa. The cocoa comes from West African farmers in countries it does not name, where child labour in cocoa farming is widespread. Guylian publishes no supplier list, prices paid, or child labour monitoring and remediation results. Its owner Lotte has faced criticism over workers' rights at its own factories.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Certified | Listed by Fairtrade ANZ in Australia and New Zealand. All cocoa has been Fairtrade-sourced since 2022 under a cocoa-only, mass-balance label, not full product certification. View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | No B Corp certification for Guylian was identified. View |
| Chocolate Scorecard | Unclear | Guylian is not rated on the Chocolate Scorecard. A company listed as "Lotte" was invited to the 2026 edition, but it is unclear whether that is Guylian's owner Lotte Wellfood or Japan's Lotte. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not listed | No Australian modern slavery statement from Guylian or Lotte covering Guylian was identified. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Not listed | No UK modern slavery statement from Guylian UK Ltd was identified. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Unclear | Guylian's cocoa comes from West Africa, but it does not name the countries. Côte d'Ivoire cocoa is listed for child and forced labour, and Ghana cocoa for child labour. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No allegations specific to Guylian's supply chain were identified. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- Fairtrade ANZ – Fairtrade chocolate brands · search the archive · Guylian is listed as a Fairtrade chocolate brand in both Australia and New Zealand.
- Fairtrade Foundation – Guylian switches to 100 percent Fairtrade cocoa · search the archive · Guylian converted 100% of its cocoa to Fairtrade; about US$495,624 in Premium goes to West African cocoa farmers; the Fairtrade logo appears on its packaging.
- US DOL – List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (cocoa) · search the archive · Cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire is listed for child and forced labour, and cocoa from Ghana for child labour.
- ConfectioneryNews – Guylian commits to 100% Fairtrade Certified cocoa (2022) · search the archive · Announced 16 November 2022; all cocoa sourced on Fairtrade terms from West African farmers; nearly US$500,000 in Fairtrade Premium; made at Sint-Niklaas, Belgium.
- Tesco – Guylian Seashells Boxed Chocolates 250g · search the archive · Lists 'Fairtrade – Cocoa' and says mass balance is used to match Fairtrade sourcing; sugar is the first ingredient; manufactured by Chocolaterie Guylian N.V., Sint-Niklaas.
- Food Chain Magazine – Guylian · search the archive · 175 employees in Sint-Niklaas, where all Guylian chocolates are made; 100% Fairtrade cocoa from African farmers.
- The Good Shopping Guide – Guylian · search the archive · Scores 40/100 against a benchmark of 70; owned by Lotte Confectionery since 2008; Lotte criticised over workers' rights, including dismissals after workers formed a union at a Choco Pie factory.
- FinanceAsia – Lotte buys Belgian chocolate maker Guylian (2008) · search the archive · Lotte acquired Guylian in 2008.
- Fairtrade America: Guylian commits to 100% Fairtrade certified cocoa · search the archive · Guylian chocolates carry the Fairtrade Mark; 100% Fairtrade certified cocoa
Published by Guylian or its owner
- Guylian – Sustainability · search the archive · Uses 100% Fairtrade cacao in all its chocolates; refers to industry partners' work to prevent child labour; mentions Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire only in connection with the Cocoa & Forests Initiative.
Company details
- Owned by
- Lotte Wellfood
- Headquarters
- Belgium
- Employees
- About 175
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Guylian ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/guylian, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What On Track means
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Guylian.