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Chocoa 2026

Amsterdam Cocoa Week 2026 – Your First Look

Exclusive interview with Anna Laven, Chocoa Programme Director

,   and  Anthony Myers
8 min read
Image shows a backdrop of the Chocoa Banner
Image: Chocoa
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We’re proud to announce: CocoaRadar is the Official Media Partner of the Chocoa Conference 2026

Amsterdam is preparing for one of the most important cocoa gatherings of the decade. From 16–22 February 2026, over 3,000 professionals, 190+ exhibitors, and 130+ speakers will converge for Amsterdam Cocoa Week — a global hub for collaboration, innovation and sector transformation.

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And this year, we’re can confirm that once again:  CocoaRadar will serve as the official media partner for the Chocoa Conference.

Expect exclusive interviews, on-the-ground reporting, and Premium analysis straight from the main stage.

What’s Inside Chocoa 2026?

A Week Shaping Cocoa’s Future

The Chocoa Conference brings one of the sharpest, most solutions-driven agendas in the sector. Key themes include:

Standout Sessions

As media partner, we’ll be covering every major session, pulling out insights, tensions, and commitments as they emerge - keep scrolling for our interview with Anna Laven.

Amsterdam Cocoa Week: A Global Meeting Point

Beyond Chocoa, the full Amsterdam Cocoa Week brings:

The scale:

Expect a high-powered mix of policy, trade, sustainability, innovation, sensory excellence, and consumer connection.

What CocoaRadar Will Be Watching

As the official media partner, our editorial team will be tracking:

Premium members will receive exclusive reporting, session breakdowns, interviews and behind-the-scenes analysis throughout the week.

Stay Tuned: Our Coverage Begins Soon

CocoaRadar will publish:

Q&A: Anna Laven

Chocoa Programme Director

Anna Laven, Creative Director, The Company Behind Chocoa & Amsterdam Cocoa Week. Image: cocoaradar.com

Q: What stands out as the defining theme of Chocoa 2026, and how does this year’s programme reflect the most significant shifts in the cocoa sector since the last edition in February 2025?

Anna Laven: It is good to explain that the overall Chocoa 2026 programme exists of several events that have different aims and that target various audiences: The Trade Fair (where cocoa producers, traders, chocolate makers, and service providers do business), the Chocoa Conference (for multi-stakeholder audience working on sustainability in mainstream cocoa and chocolate), The Chocolate Makers' Forum (for craft chocolate makers' that aim to grow and have more impact) - see the programme for full details.

Next to Chocoa events, the Amsterdam Cocoa Week will host the Partnership Meeting of the World Cocoa Foundation, Cacao of Excellence Award Ceremonies and many other side-events organized by key players in the sector.

This ambitious programme makes it difficult to identify a single defining theme. But, if we look at the Chocoa Conference, which is one of the key-events for industry, two words reflect the core of the 2026 programme: Resilience and Transition.

Resilience to cope with price fluctuations, intensified disease pressure, climate change, health and supply risks, and the need to address some of the most fundamental persistent challenges that block transition, such as the ongoing fragmentation of land, lack of documentation, restrictions on planting materials and access to services and finance. 

Like the last edition, we will have a strong presence of farmers and their organisations on stage and we will bring in a variety of stakeholders that bring in  nuance, evidence, innovation, fresh perspectives and inspiration.

Q: Many stakeholders have said the sector is entering a ‘make-or-break’ period. From your perspective, what are the most urgent industry challenges that Chocoa 2026 is trying to confront head-on?

Anna Laven: We will kick-off the Chocoa Conference with an open, more macro-level, discussion on the fundamental challenges (mentioned above) that the cocoa sector faces, and understand how deeply these are rooted and whether or not there is commitment from all stakeholders to address these. 

These challenges are not necessarily new, but they remain underaddressed, poorly understood, or even neglected. We include the perspective of farmer organizations from different countries of origin to share their views on what is needed to move towards resilience, and we will learn from and critically reflect on, forward-looking farming models that respond to tough challenges.

In six break-out sessions, we create space for sharing and discussing potential impactful and scalable solutions that help the sector to mitigate risks, address inequalities, improve farmers' income, improve working conditions and contribute to more resilient livelihoods. In a final panel, we will reflect on what a realistic future outlook of the global cocoa sector looks like, building on the insights from all contributors. Chocoa offers a neutral platform for all stakeholders to discuss potential solutions, as we are not driven by member interests - be they industry, NGOs or governmental.

Q: The EUDR delays have created uncertainty and frustration across producing countries and the supply chain. How is Chocoa addressing this shifting regulatory landscape, and what conversations do you expect to dominate the hallways?

Anna Laven: Chocoa is addressing the regulatory landscape in three events, the European Market Academy (EMA), the Farmers' Day and in break-out sessions of the conference. The focus in EMA and Farmers' Day is quite practical, helping SMEs, farmer organisations and farmers to be ready for compliance with regulation, putting their realities at the centre.

EUDR and other regulatory instruments have been on the Chocoa agenda for years. We know from the reactions of our participants that the uncertainty and frustrations are shared by many stakeholders, and that, on the other hand, relief is felt as well, as many farmers and their organisations and event their countries were not ready yet to meet the requirements.

Those farmers would have been blocked from the European market, their main export destination and source of income. We will continue to use the events that are organised during the Amsterdam Cocoa Week to support those farmers/organisations/countries to prepare themselves for future implementation of the requirements.

Q: Looking 12–18 months ahead, what do you see as the most realistic outlook for the global cocoa sector — commercially, socially and environmentally?

Anna Laven: This is the million-dollar question that we will reflect on during the closing panel of the Chocoa Conference. The Chocoa events will offer a platform for discussion, and thoughts will come together at the end of the programme. We encourage everyone to join in and contribute to a clear outlook for the global cocoa sector.

Q: Chocoa is known for its multi-stakeholder format — farmer voices, governments, industry, NGOs, researchers. Why is this model more important than ever, and why should the industry prioritise Chocoa?

Anna Laven: Chocoa is an independent entity, set up by a small team of passionate cocoa and chocolate experts. With the Chocoa events that we organise ourselves and the events of partners that we host during the Amsterdam Cocoa Week, we aim to bring positive change to the cocoa sector as a whole and at every step at the value chain. The only way to do this is to involve multiple stakeholders and maintain an open attitude to new perspectives and narratives. Collaboration and co-creation are critical features of Chocoa and the Amsterdam Cocoa Week. Industry is one of the leading players, so they should make sure to be present and contribute. Of course, you can sit back, relax and listen to what others say, but the format of the events in designed to get as much participation as possible. We do it because we care.

Q: And finally — why Amsterdam? What makes the city, and the Netherlands more broadly, such a strategic and symbolic place to host a global conversation on the future of cocoa?

Anna Laven: It goes without saying that if cocoa had a home in any region outside of the cocoa production belt, it surely is Amsterdam.  The Port of Amsterdam is the largest port in the world for import and storage of cocoa, and the Amsterdam region (including Zaanstreek) hosts the largest network of cocoa processing, trade and dedicated services. In addition, Amsterdam hosts many research institutes, NGOs, and cocoa sustainability service providers, which foster innovation and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This makes Amsterdam the logical place to host a global conversation on the future of cocoa, making Amsterdam the centre for networking, knowledge exchange and doing business. We do this annually during Amsterdam Cocoa Week, bringing together 3,000+ professionals from different countries of origin at the former trade house, the iconic Beurs van Berlage in the centre of Amsterdam. 

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