Sustainability of Chocolate Production in Ecuador: Drivers, Barriers, and Local Factors

The aims of this study are first, to identify the drivers of and barriers to the sustainability of chocolate production in Ecuador, one of the Andean countries in Latin America. Second, the study aims to investigate how local factors determine the approach to sustainability in this context. The analysis of two exemplary cases in this industry shows that the drivers and barriers for sustainability reveal the local factors that derive two approaches to sustainability in Ecuador’s chocolate production: one that prioritizes the institutional, social, and cultural dimensions, and the other that focuses on the economic, cultural, and institutional dimensions.