Campco Chocolates

Campco: Empowering Farmers and Crafting Quality Chocolates in India!

Discover the remarkable journey of Campco (Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Limited), a beacon of agricultural cooperation and quality product manufacturing in India. Born out of necessity and driven by a vision to empower farmers, Campco stands as a testament to collective success.

From Crisis to Cooperative Strength

The genesis of Campco traces back to a severe market crisis in 1970-71, when a sharp fall in areca nut prices plunged growers in Karnataka and Kerala into hardship. To combat this, Varanashi Subraya Bhat spearheaded the formation of Campco, which was officially registered on July 11, 1973. This multi-state cooperative was established with the core objective of procuring and marketing areca nut and cocoa to ensure fair prices and support for its members. Its operations have since expanded to serve farmers across several Indian states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

The Sweet Expansion: India’s Own Chocolate Factory

As farmers diversified into cocoa cultivation in the late 1970s, another crisis emerged when buyers withdrew due to a slump in international prices. Campco once again stepped in, rescuing farmers by entering the cocoa market. To ensure a stable and remunerative market for cocoa, Campco established a cutting-edge chocolate manufacturing factory in Puttur, Dakshina Kannada district, in 1986. Inaugurated by then-President Giani Zail Singh, this facility became a cornerstone for Indian cocoa, producing a diverse range of chocolates and cocoa products under its own brand and for other companies like Nestle. The factory proudly holds FSSC 22000, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, OHSAS certifications, underscoring its commitment to quality and safety.

Diverse Products and Farmer Welfare

Campco’s extensive product line includes premium chocolates, chocolate bars, and industrial items like compound chocolate, couverture, cocoa powder, and various cocoa-based chips, pastes, and fillings. Beyond its sweet offerings, Campco has also diversified into rubber, pepper, and coconut markets, further supporting India’s agricultural community. The cooperative is deeply committed to farmer welfare, offering initiatives like subsidized copper sulphate, organic manure, skill development programs, and even leveraging green energy through windmills and solar panels.

Campco remains a tower of strength for the agricultural sector, continuously working to uplift rural economies and promote sustainable farming practices across India.