We always have a ton of fun here at RAOP, but last week was definitely one for the books: we had a Panago pizza party at Sugar Beach, did a trampoline workout with Bounce, and perhaps most importantly, got to tour a top-secret chocolate factory!
The Nestlé factory here in Toronto’s West End has been up and running making all of our favourite chocolate treats for over 100 years, but the public is never allowed inside their top-secret doors. Jo and I felt like we had found our very own golden tickets when we received our invite for a super exclusive media tour of the production lines (Jo has always dreamed of getting inside a chocolate factory).
We basically had to “scrub in” like surgeons to get in the coveted doors, dressed in boots, hard hats, safety goggles and hilarious white suits (we sort of looked like all-white Oompa Loompas?) Once inside we toured three floors – Smarties, Kit Kat, and Coffee Crisp! We learned how smarties are tumbled in layers of coating to form their crispy shell before the colours are added, and you can’t even imagine the mocha scent at the Coffee Crisp production line.
Despite all the fun chocolate goodness, the really interesting part of the tour was learning all about Nestle’s #unwrapsomegood campaign and their Cocoa Plan in Côte d’Ivoire. Not only is Nestlé committed to making all of their products right here in Canada with no artificial flavours or colours and 0 waste, they also use 100% sustainable cocoa from Africa. 40% of the world’s cocoa supply comes from Côte d’Ivoire, and Nestlé does as much as they can to make the industry stronger, shipping cocoa seedlings to farmers, teaching updated sustainable practices, helping women create their own businesses, and building schools.
There’s nothing better than learning that a company is doing more good than you think, both inside and out.
This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.
Chocolate made in TO– I’m happy!!