Forget tech, make chocolate, Indonesia tells millennials
Sliding cocoa supply from the country has forced companies, such as Mars, to open a WiFi café with pictures about cocoa farming, to attract teenagers
Jakarta — The maker of chocolate M&M’s and Snickers sees a growing risk on the horizon: sliding cocoa supply from one of the world’s top growers. The answer? Comics and WiFi. Mars, maker of confectionery famous to consumers across the world, is among firms trying to lure millennials into cocoa farming in Indonesia, where aging planters, decaying trees, pests and diseases have depressed output so much that the nation has become a net importer. The hope is that the younger set, attracted by free internet, will get hooked on cocoa at themed cafés and be persuaded to return to the farms. “We opened a café that has WiFi, and many pictures and objects about cocoa farming, and it’s attracted a lot of teenagers because of the WiFi,” said Arie Nauvel Iskandar, chair of the Indonesia Cocoa Association and director of corporate affairs at Mars Symbioscience in Indonesia. “It’s just one way to introduce young people to cocoa.” The association, which is working with Mars and other companies to b...
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