Here we are in April and it’s Easter very soon!

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.

Want a quick summary to pull out at the supermarket? Check out our ‌summary flyer (PDF) or ‌download a printable version (PDF) to share with your friends.

We recommend looking for these logos:

Fairtrade, Fairtrade Cocoa, and Rainforest Alliance logos

Fairtrade checks both the cocoa and sugar supply chain for child and forced labour, and provides significantly better conditions for cocoa farmers including higher income. (In some case you may see the white Fairtrade Cocoa logo, this means only the cocoa supply chain was checked.) Rainforest Alliance checks the cocoa supply chain for child and forced labour and supports farmers with small premium.

If you’re interested in why we consider these certifications reliable, see our Cocoa and Chocolate buying guide.

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 are 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

Note there’s been a few changes this year. Due to a change in certifications used, we are no longer including Ferrero Rocher and Kinder products on the list. We’ve also previously included Park Avenue licensed character products (Barbie, Hot wheels, Minions etc themed chocolates), but haven’t seen any of these using Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa this year. However we do have a range of Bluey (popular children TV character) products to recommend this time.

So despite the loss of some favourites there are still lots of great options from a range of brands. Check out the list below.

Easter treats with certified cocoa & sugar

Tony’s Chocolonely

Tony's Chocolonely products - Egg carton containing chocolate easter eggs, and a pink background chocolate block

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 Ballantynes, in store and online

Make your own chocolate coated Marshmallow eggs

Marshmallow eggs coated with chocolate in a range of settings including on a blue surface, in resued egg cartons, and in a pile.

We aren’t aware of any marshmallow eggs with certified chocolate and sugar however they are easy to make yourself using certified chocolate and sugar from the supermarket. Making your own also gives you more options for small eggs with flavoured fillings.

See recipes for:

Easter treats with Fairtrade certified cocoa

Guylian

Guylians Easter egg shaped tin filled with pralines

Certification: Fairtrade cocoa

Products available: Easter egg shaped tin filled with pralines

Where to buy: The Warehouse

Easter treats with Fair for Life certification

La Petite

La Petite chocolates including eggs, chocolate bars, bunnies, chicks, and hens

Certification: La Petite 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:

Where to buy: Online, or at their shop in Wellington, and various boutique retailers.

Easter treats with Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa

Woolworths gluten-free Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns wrapped in plastic packaging with a bunny on it

Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa

A new addition to our list this year! Woolworths’ gluten-free hot cross buns have Rainforest Alliance cocoa certification.

Where to buy: Woolworths

Nestlé range

Various Nestle chocolate eggs, including a build a bunny hut, mini easter egg bags, and bunnies.

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 and confectionary across their brands (e.g. Smarties, After 8, KitKat, Milky Bar, Aero, Allens).

This year we’ve seen:

There may be other products also available in store.

Where to buy: Kmart, supermarkets, The Warehouse, or Cracker Jack.

If Nestlé itself is a concern, see here why we consider it generally OK to buy from Nestlé these days.

Waikato Valley

Waikato Valley mini eggs, a boxed eggs, hollow eggs, toys with eggs and Easter bunnies

Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa

Products include:

Where to buy: The Warehouse

Bluey branded chocolate

Bluey range of Easter eggs (individuals and collections)

This collection of milk chocolate eggs is designed for small children who are fans of popular TV character Bluey.

Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa

Products include:

Where to buy: Kmart

Chocolatier

Chocolatier 6 eggs boxed sets - milk, white and dark flavoured eggs and 2 boxed hollow eggs

Certifications: Rainforest Alliance cocoa (the certification logo is not on Chocolatier’s products, but we know from their website they use Rainforest Alliance cocoa).

Products include:

Where to buy: Woolworths

Nomo (allergy-friendly, dairy-free & vegan)

NOMO chocolates - bunnies and easter eggs in boxes

NOMO chocolate is all free from dairy, gluten, eggs and nuts;

Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa (the certification logo is not on NOMO’s products, but we know from their website they use Rainforest Alliance cocoa).

Products include:

Where to buy: The Warehouse, supermarkets and Warehouse stationery

Moo Free (dairy-free & vegan)

Moofree selection of a bunny and various sized eggs, boxed and packets

Certification: Rainforest Alliance cocoa (the certification logo is not on Moo Free’s products, but we know from their website they use Rainforest Alliance cocoa).

Products include:

Where to buy: Vegan & organics stores

Nice (some products)

A blue blox with a chocolate bunny in it alongside two colourful chocolate bunnies. An Easter hunt kit in a blue box with a handle.

Certification: Some Nice products use Rainforest Alliance cocoa. Look for the certification logo on the packaging.

Products we’ve seen with the certification logo:

Where to buy: The Warehouse

Kmart own brand (some products)

Kmart own brand packets of Easter eggs 400g

Certification: Some Kmart products use Rainforest Alliance cocoa. Look for the certification logo on the packaging.

Products we’ve seen with the certification logo: Easter eggs share pack – solid milk or caramel crunch milk

Amongst the large variety of Kmart own brand Easter themed products, we only found these two products with Rainforest Alliance certification on them. However there may be other options in store depending which branch you go to. Look out for the Rainforest Alliance logo.

Where to buy: Kmart (stores or online)

Windel (some products)

Two Windel music boxes. One is a white rectangular box with bunnies on it, one is a mushroom shaped box with a red and white spotted top.

Certification: Some Windel products use Rainforest Alliance cocoa. Look for the certification logo on the packaging, it could be on the label like in this example.

Products we’ve seen with the certification logo:

Where to buy: Ballantynes in their Christchurch store, or online (however it’s not visible on the website which ones are Rainforest Alliance certified, so may be best to message/phone Ballantynes before you buy online to be sure).

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We hope the above helps! Have a great Easter :)