Founding of the company
Years we are here for you
Annual volume in metric tons
MISSION STATEMENT
Delivering quality
Providing flexibility
Our path to long lasting partnerships
OUR SERVICES
Albrecht & Dill specializes in the trade of raw cocoa beans and cocoa products (liquor, butter, cake, and powder) for the chocolate manufacturing industry. We are able to supply the chocolate manufacturing industry as well as companies using semi-finished products.




TRADITION AND TRANSITION
IN THE WORLD OF COCOA

COCOA
Since the beginning of the 19 th century Albrecht & Dill has imported/traded cocoa beans securing long lasting relationships throughout with producers and exporters along the cocoa belt (equator). These strong partnerships at origin whether in West Africa, South America, or elsewhere have allowed Albrecht & Dill to effectively serve and support chocolate clients industry wide.
We supply our customers with bulk cocoa from West Africa and Asia as well as with flavour cocoa from Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia (Java), the Caribbean and other origins.
DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
Certified
COCOA BUTTER
Cocoa butter is the edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean and an important raw material for the food industry. More commonly nowadays cocoa butter is produced to a large extent in cocoa producing countries.
Besides trading blocked cocoa butter worldwide Albrecht & Dill Trading GmbH also imports cocoa butter into Europe (Amsterdam and Hamburg) in order to melt and deodorize the cocoa butter on a tolling basis. With always a continuous flow of goods Albrecht & Dill is able to supply its customers with liquid cocoa butter on a just-in-time basis. Sophisticated quality control as well as the careful selection of suppliers enables Albrecht & Dill to stay on top of the ever-increasing quality requirements the industry demands.
The majority of the West European chocolate industry is amongst our customers.





A & D SUSTAINABILITY
The world of cocoa looks very different today than it did years ago. Stronger regulations, a need for more traceability, and increased consumer awareness require continued strides in sustainability. This is of significant importance for Albrecht & Dill.
Sustainability project in Ecuador
Albrecht & Dill was one of the first in the industry to implement a sustainability project (including full traceability) in Ecuador in 2011 and we continued the project in 2015 with partner Lindt und Sprüngli. In the past decade since, hundreds of farmers have passed through our training programs, which has helped them to professionalize their farms and increase their income. The program continues to date, and we have taken the lessons learned in Ecuador to West Africa for further implementation. We are working closely with our clients and partner organizations to promote good cocoa, as it takes a joint effort with shared responsibility.
Certified cocoa
Albrecht & Dill offers certified cocoa beans from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Madagascar to name a few. We work with the following certifications: Organic, UTZ, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance. Traceable cocoa beans (with or without) official certification comprise a large part of Albrecht & Dill’s portfolio in addition.
Our goal
We want to have a positive impact on the quality of life of cocoa famers, as well as on the environment in countries of origin. Our long-term goal is to have a cocoa sector in which farming communities, cocoa businesses and the environment thrives hand in hand. We believe that education and collaboration play a crucial role in bringing about the required positive change.
Our sustainability strategy
In 2020 Albrecht & Dill took a continued step in furthering sustainability efforts. We started by mapping out the risks in our supply chains on social, economic and environmental levels. We then chose to prioritize our focus in 3 areas after which we defined our commitments for the coming years.
- Resilient farmers & communities
At Albrecht & Dill we believe that farmers are entrepreneurs, who aim to make a profit and need to invest in the future. We want to empower farmers by helping them to increase entrepreneurial capacity. We believe that education is a great way to do so. By promoting gender equality, tackling the root causes of child labour, and by motivating young adults to get involved in the agricultural sector, we want to improve the living situation of cocoa farming communities. Our aim is to have a sustainable farm schooling program in place across our supply chains by 2030, similar to what we have accomplished in Ecuador.
- Improve income
We see that farming cocoa has its financial challenges, but we also recognize that there are many complexities at play here beyond our control. We support farmers by looking at diversification of their income, lowering production costs, assisting them with making financial budgets, empowering cooperatives, and strengthening our supplier relations all to better aid them in becoming economically more stable. Transparency is hereby of utmost importance. Our aim is to double our traceable sourcing volume by 2030.
- Enhanced Farming Practices and Lowering the Negative Impact Cocoa can have on the environment
We want to lower the negative impact from cocoa farming by lessening farmer dependency on the use of pesticides, look at ways to reduce cadmium levels in cadmium-rich areas, provide tools and education on smarter farming, and support organizations who are working to halt deforestation linked to cocoa production. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 50% come 2030 by championing agroforestry practices.
Our commitments are connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). These serve as a guiding compass for implementation and reporting on impact & performance.
If you would like to know more about our activities on the ground, hear about the progress that we are making in delivering our goals, or to collaborate, please contact us.

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate
Charles Dickens
HISTORY
Founded in 1806 by Johann Albrecht the company was at that time named J.J.N. Albrecht. In 1825 Theodor Dill joined as a partner and in 1835 the company was renamed Albrecht & Dill. During the Big Hamburg Fire of 1842 Theodor Dill organized a team of brave citizens and successfully prevented the New Exchange building from burning down. He became part of Hamburg’s history as the “Saver of the New Exchange”.
After the death of Theodor Dill in 1861 the company was in the hands of the families Dill and Meincke, enduring many crises including the First and Second World Wars. In 1949 Erich L. Kröger became partner of Albrecht & Dill until his death in 1984. In 1950 Albrecht & Dill acquired German distribution rights for Chanel, the French fashion house, first in part and then for the whole of Germany. This business relationship lasted for nearly 50 years. During the 1960’s, an innovator in cocoa pod counting, the influential Hans Kilian, worked for Albrecht & Dill. In 1984 Christoph Kröger became partner. After Franz-Alfred Wooge had left the company in 1996 Christoph Kröger was the single shareholder of Albrecht & Dill until Philipp Hoffmann joined as partner in 2005. In 2016 Albrecht & Dill USA Inc. was founded. Dirk Beyersdorff is the senior trader of this entity.
TEAM


C. Kröger
Managing Director

P. Hoffmann
Managing Director

S. Grünewald
Partner

C. Schröder-Castendyck
Partner

J. Kröger
Trader
MEMBERSHIPS OF ALBRECHT & DILL TRADING GmbH
Verein der am Rohkakaohandel beteiligten Firmen e. V
The Federation of Cocoa Commerce Ltd
Versammlung eines ehrbaren Kaufmanns zu Hamburg e.V.
Der Übersee-Club e.V.
MEMBERSHIPS OF ALBRECHT & DILL USA Inc.
The Cocoa Merchants' Association of America
Fine Chocolate Industry Association
Ballindamm 37
Imprint
USt.Id.-Nr. DE 174496334 Albrecht & Dill Trading GmbH
Sitz Hamburg commercial registerHRB 18309 Amtsgericht Hamburg
DE-ÖKO-013
Christoph Kröger (Managing partner)
Philipp Hoffmann (Managing partner)
Realisation:
Herret von Haeften GmbH http://www.hvh-design.de/
GERMANY – Head Office
Albrecht & Dill Trading GmbH
Ballindamm 37 – 20095 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 40 5550222 0
Fax: +49 (0) 40 5550222 44
trading@albrecht-dill.de