AS AN organic chocolate company set up to support the Mayan Indians of Belize, Green & Black’s became a byword for ethical and enterprising business.

But last night the firm, which has developed a cult following for its upmarket confectionery, faced accusations of selling out to big business after it agreed to be bought by Cadbury Schweppes.

In the deal with Cadbury Schweppes, worth about £20million, the small-scale chocolatier will be absorbed into a global portfolio of mainstream products, from chocolate bars to Dr Pepper soft drinks.

William Kendall, Green & Black’s chief executive, last night denied that the company was reneging on its pledge to help the native communities which harvest cocoa in Belize’s jungles. Green & Black’s, which promotes sourcing organically-grown cocoa beans on terms that strongly favour growers, was born of the idea of making the Mayan Indians main beneficiaries of their lucrative cocoa crop.

As a part of the Cadbury Schweppes family, Green & Black’s will now give the mass-market chocolate producer a foothold in more gourmet confectionery, and the chance to enter the highly competitive US market. The fair-trade firm currently outsells luxury chocolatiers such as Lindt in some British markets.

Mr Kendall, who together with other shareholders has enjoyed a multimillion-pound windfall from the sale, said Green & Black’s would remain a protected brand and had not succumbed to the allure of big business.

“I can see why this question (about selling-out) is on people’s lips because we are a campaigning brand. Yes, this is a momentous day but it’s a relationship that we have been forging for several years,” he said.

“They (Cadbury Schweppes) have showed interest because of the ethical trading and the organic buying . . . they are buying into what we are doing.” Cadbury Schweppes, which itself has promoted strong social ideals based on its Quaker roots, said it supported Green & Black’s approach and would treat it as a stand-alone business.

“Part of the reason that Green & Black’s feel comfortable with us that we are very committed to ethical business,” a spokeswoman for Cadbury Schweppes said, adding that Mr Kendall and his management team are to remain with the business.

As Quakers, the Cadbury family championed social equality and an end to poverty.

In the early 1900s, Cadbury shifted cocoa sourcing from Angola, Sâo Tomé and other Portuguese territories to the Gold Coast, now Ghana, because of concerns over the use of slave labour.

But with more than 55,000 employees and a stockmarket value of £10 billion, the modern Cadbury Schweppes empire faces a constant struggle to ensure that sound values run all the way through the organisation.

Although Green & Black’s is a London-based business, its chocolate is made by a small family-owned operator near Lake Como, in northern Italy.

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