Here we are in March and it’s almost Easter!
For many Kiwis that means it’s time for chocolate eggs, bunnies, and other delicious cocoa treats.
However, did you know that at least 20% of the Easter eggs on sale in New Zealand will be made with cocoa produced by kids? Children who work long days in very harsh conditions rather than going to school. The sugar used can also be a concern, with child and forced labour common in the industry.
If this bothers you and you’d like to support better practices, you may be wondering which chocolates to buy. Good news is there are certifications that can help us when shopping this Easter.
We recommend looking for these logos:
- Fairtrade – checks both the cocoa and sugar supply chain, and provides significantly better conditions for cocoa farmers including higher income
- Rainforest Alliance – checks the cocoa supply chain and supports farmers with small premiums
- Bonsucro – checks the sugar supply chain through independent audits
(If you’re interested in why we consider these certifications reliable, see our cocoa and sugar buying guides.)
So get Egg-cited! We’ve put together a handy guide and there are lots of options available – from eggs to bunnies, to cheap options for the kids, fancier ones for gifts, and vegan choices.
See below for help finding everything you need this Easter.
What to look for
This list starts with options where both the cocoa and sugar is certified, followed by where only the cocoa is certified.
Jump to your favourite brand using the links (in the Table of Contents) or scroll through the full list.
Table of Contents
Easter treats with certified cocoa & sugar
Tony’s Chocolonely
Certification: Fairtrade cocoa and sugar (also any other “risky” ingredients such as vanilla essence are certified too)
Products available:
Where to buy: At Farro or online
Ferrero Rocher
Certification: Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance cocoa and Bonsucro sugar (note Ferrero Rocher doesn’t use the certification logos on their packaging, learn more here).
Products include:
- Chocolate egg with roasted hazelnut pieces
- Chocolate egg with 3x Ferrero Rocher
- Easter squirrels
- Mini hazlenut eggs
You will likely find further products available in store.
Where to buy: The Warehouse or supermarkets
Kinder
Certification: Same as Ferrero Rocher
Products include:
- Figurines in 6 pack
- Easter Mini Mix in Easter house
- Bunny with toy
- Surprise egg with toy
- Mini eggs
- Joy Easter egg with toy
Where to buy: Kmart, supermarkets, or The Warehouse
You will likely find further products available in store.
Make your own Marshmallow eggs
We aren’t aware of any certified options for marshmallow eggs. However, they are easy to make yourself using certified chocolate and sugar from the supermarket.
See recipes for:
Easter treats with certified cocoa
Whittaker’s
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products available: Choc Cross Bun flavoured chocolate bloc
Where to buy: The Warehouse and supermarkets
Nestlé range
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Note some Nestlé products don’t display the Rainforest Alliance (RA) logo and instead have a statement on the packet saying they ‘work with’ RA. We have checked and that does mean that the cocoa is RA certified.
Products include:
Nestlé usually has various chocolates across their brands (e.g. Smarties, After 8, KitKat, Milky Bar).
This year we’ve seen:
- Easter eggs – Smarties medium and large eggs, Milkybar mini eggs and small egg, KitKat mini eggs, KitKat Hazelnut egg, mixed mini eggs
- Easter break gift box – KitKat
- Bunnies in various sizes – KitKat, Smarties, Milky Bar, and After 8
There may be other products also available in store.
Where to buy: Kmart, supermarkets, or The Warehouse.
If Nestlé itself is a concern, see here why we consider it generally OK to buy from Nestle these days.
Countdown/Woolworths own brand
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products include: Bags of plain & flavoured mini eggs
Where to buy: Countdown or Woolworths supermarkets; Fresh Choice and Super Value
Waikato Valley
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products include:
Waikato Valley has a range of Easter products including:
- Mini eggs
- Egg sampler packs (Kids version and Luxury version)
- Hollow eggs
- Bunnies
Where to buy: The Warehouse
Kmart own brand
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products include:
- Cookie pops
- Easter egg + light-up bunny ears
- Hot cocoa mix + Easter-themed mug
- Mug cake kits + Easter-themed mug – Chocolate flavour and Donut flavour
- Chocolate cocoa bomb with marshmallows + Easter-themed mug
There may be other products also available in store.
Where to buy: Kmart (stores or online)
Nomo (allergy-friendly, dairy-free & vegan)
These are free from gluten, nuts, eggs, and dairy.
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products include:
- Bunnies
- Egg with lolly
- Eggs with mini bars – Creamy Chocolate and Caramel & Sea Salt
Where to buy: The Warehouse or supermarkets.
Park Avenue
Certification: The ones at The Warehouse use Rainforest Alliance cocoa. Note there may be products sold at other places that might not be certified.
Products include:
Various licensed items with Barbie, Paw Patrol, or Hot Wheels branding
- Barbie: Easter egg with mug
- Barbie or Paw Patrol: Easter eggs with cup
- Paw Patrol: Easter egg with mug
- Hot Wheels: Monster Truck
Where to buy: The Warehouse
Moo Free (dairy-free & vegan)
Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa
Products include:
- Bunny
- Mini Easter Eggs
- Egg-hunt sets of Easter eggs
- Eggs in various flavours – honeycomb, rocky road, and strawberry sundae
- Egg with mini bar
Where to buy: Vegan & organics stores (at time of writing it looks like these are mostly out-of-stock but may be returning soon, so could be worth checking).
La Petite
Certification: These don’t use one of the certifications previously mentioned, but do use Fair For Life certified cocoa. This is a European certification that we rarely see in New Zealand, however we feel it is very similar to Fairtrade and consider it a reliable slave-free certification.
Products include:
- Easter eggs – 1x speckled egg and 8x mini praline eggs (dark or milk chocolate)
- Easter bunny or hare – Marshmallow bunnies and Benjamin the Hare (milk or dark chocolate)
- Easter chicks – 3x Baby chicks and Henny Penny the Chick (milk or dark chocolate)
- Easter hens – Harrier the Mama Hen and Miss Daisy the Hen
- Chocolate bars – Hot Cross Bar milk chocolate and dark chocolate, and Strawberry Cinnamon Easter Bunny
Where to buy: Online, or at their shop in Wellington, and various boutique retailers.
Windel
Certification: Some Windel products have Rainforest Alliance cooca. Look for the certification logo on the packaging.
Products include:
- Chocolates in old-fashioned style metal containers e.g. egg-shaped music box with chocolate eggs inside
- Plastic Easter “clicker” figurines with chocolate sweets
Where to buy: High-end department stores such as Smith & Caughey’s and Ballantynes.
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We hope the above helps! Have a great Easter :)