Labour Lens

Marabou

Lacks transparency

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Chocolate & cocoa

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources

Sweden's best-known chocolate brand.

Marabou is rated as part of a company that got the Bad Egg award in the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard.

Better-graded chocolate

Graded higher than Marabou, selling the same kinds of things.

Tony's ChocolonelyChocolate & cocoaFairtrade chocolate barsHolds Fairtrade certification and publishes its suppliers.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities3 starsAlter EcoChocolate & cocoaOrganic fair trade chocolateHolds Fair for Life certification.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities3 starsMoser RothChocolate & cocoaPremium chocolate blocks sold at ALDIHolds SA8000 certification.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities3 stars

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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.

How grades are decided

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 and palm oil) 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)
Stars it would earn as Good:
StarAwarded 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; Marabou doesn't say where its own cocoa is grown. The rest is shown as where cocoa is usually grown.

Where its cocoa is grown, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
Côte d'IvoireRegular violationsFar below a living wageModerate
GhanaStrong protectionsWell below a living wageLow
EcuadorUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
CameroonUsual for the industrySystematic violationsFar below a living wageModerate
NigeriaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsFar below a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate

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 and palm oil in only a few products. It doesn't show where its hazelnuts come from and traces or certifies most of its palm oil. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of them traced, certified or upcycled.

Research notes Marabou is made at Mondelēz's factory in Upplands Väsby, Sweden, and its packs carry the Cocoa Life mark; Mondelēz says 100% of cocoa for its chocolate brands went through its in-house Cocoa Life programme in 2025. Cocoa Life is not independently certified, works on a mass-balance basis and runs mainly in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire; Marabou's origin shares are not published, so Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are shown without shares. No counts of child labour cases found or fixed are published. Hazelnuts are used in nut bars such as Schweizernöt, with origin undisclosed. No Australian stockist is listed.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Chocolate ScorecardProblem foundMondelēz 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
KnowTheChainListedMondelēz rose into the top 10 of the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View
UK Modern Slavery Statement RegistryListedMondelēz publishes an annual group Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery report adopted by its UK entities. View
Australian Modern Slavery RegisterListedMondelēz Australia lodges annual modern slavery statements naming West African cocoa as a high-risk area. View
US Department of Labor goods listsListedCocoa from Côte d'Ivoire is listed for child and forced labour and cocoa from Ghana for child labour. View
Business & Human Rights Resource CentreListedTracks a 2023 class action by International Rights Advocates against Mondelēz, Mars and Cargill over child labour on Ghanaian cocoa farms. 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 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Mondelēz shows uneven gains on 2025 sustainable sourcing goals (Food Dive, 2026) · search the archive · 100% of cocoa for Mondelēz chocolate brands via Cocoa Life in 2025; 100% of palm oil RSPO certified
  2. Chokladkaka Japp 185g Marabou (ICA) · search the archive · Marabou names Cocoa Life as its programme for sustainable cocoa production
  3. 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 CLMRS in 2025; no case counts
  4. ICA: Chokladkaka Schweizernöt 200g Marabou · search the archive · Ingredients list no palm oil; hazelnuts 15%; Cocoa Life programme named
  5. International Rights Advocates: Ghana cocoa case · search the archive · D.C. Superior Court denied Cargill, Mars and Mondelēz motions to dismiss; judgment pending
  6. Mondelez Sverige: Marabou är Sveriges godaste varumärke enligt Smakbarometern · search the archive · Mondelez (based in Upplands Väsby) marks 110 years of Swedish production of Marabou chocolate

Company details

Headquarters
United States
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Marabou ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/marabou, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Something missing or wrong?

Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Marabou.

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