TONY’S CHOCOLONELY
Leading chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely is a company with a commitment to make all chocolate 100% exploitation free. From bean to bar, Tony’s Chocolonely is committed to the production of ethical and sustainable chocolate. Chief of Impact & Operations Pascal Baltussen discussed the company’s goal to transform the chocolate industry, in conversation with Antonia Cole.
Tony’s Chocolonely is committed to eradicate all exploitation from the cocoa industry, Chief of Impact & Operations Pascal Baltussen said: “After discovering the true reality of the cocoa industry, a team of journalists founded the company to prove that great tasting chocolate can be made fairly.
“Today, there are still 1.56 million children working illegally and at least 30,000 victims of forced labour on cocoa farms in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from. We don’t believe that millions of cocoa farmers should be exploited for us to enjoy chocolate, so we set out on a mission to change that.”
To establish equal business relationships with suppliers in West Africa, the company operates under the Tony’s five sourcing principles. From bean traceability with Tony’s Beantracker to education initiatives, these principles work to provide cocoa farmers with a living wage and end modern slavery.
As the company grows and sells more chocolate, it needs to buy more beans. This means that more farmers are supported and earn a living wage. The introduction of Tony’s Open Chain in 2018 and Tony’s Mission Lock in 2023 have significantly reduced the prevalence of child labour in the supply chain and supported ethical practices within the chocolate industry.
In a cocoa shell
In 2019, Tony’s five sourcing principles were proven to reduce the rate of child labour in cocoa growing communities from 46.7% to 4.4%. The company exists to create a more equal supply chain, leading by example to show that chocolate can be made ethically.
The first of Tony’s sourcing principles is traceable cocoa beans. Tony’s Open Chain uses a software system built with ChainPoint technology, called BeanTracker. This digitally records the beans’ journeys and enables each bean to be traced, ensuring sustainable sourcing.
“We work with a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) to identify and remediate cases of child labour,” said Mr Baltussen. “With support from the International Cocoa Initiative and Tony’s, the partner cooperatives implement CLMRS in all member households at the community level.
“Sometimes, simple interventions such as providing bicycles or birth certificates is all that is required to enable children to go to
school. Tony’s Open Chain is unique in that we take full responsibility by having 100% of our supply chain covered by CLMRS.”
The second principle is a higher price, where Tony’s bridges the gap between Fairtrade price and the living income reference price with Tony’s premium. Paid directly to cocoa cooperatives, this addresses the root cause of illegal labour – poverty.
This links to the next principle: strong farmers. Tony’s works to make cocoa farming safe, sustainable and more profitable through education and resources. With the fourth principle, long-term relation-ships, the company enables farmers to make better choices.
“We engage in five-year commitments with cooperatives, investing for the future,” continued Mr Baltussen. “We also have a long-term partnership with Barry Callebaut that has a segregated supply chain for beans and couverture. Working with one of the biggest global cocoa processors is crucial to our model, as it proves it is scalable to larger chocolate companies.”
The last principle is quality and productivity, where Tony’s invests in agricultural knowledge and skills to improve yield and enable farmers to optimise their income. The company hopes to inspire the world’s biggest chocolate companies to adopt these principles via Tony’s Open Chain and change the industry for the better.
Growing fairly
Every year, Tony’s produces an annual FAIR report, detailing the company’s goals and progress. This transparent approach demonstrates Tony’s commitment to ethical and sustainable improvement.
The report shows that partner cooperatives within Tony’s Open Chain have a lower prevalence of child labour at 10.5%, in comparison to the industry average of 46.7%. Partners of three years or more were shown to have an even lower rate of 4.4%, which highlights the effectiveness of implementing Tony’s 5 sourcing principles.
“We are the fourth biggest chocolate bar brand in the UK, as well as being the fastest growing with an 82 per cent brand awareness,” explained Mr Baltussen. “Tony’s has expanded significantly in recent years,
specifically in our four key markets where we have offices and teams – the Netherlands, UK, US and Germany.
“Tony’s sells to many other markets such as Australia, Japan and Ireland through distributors too. This proves that big chocolate brands don’t need to rely on exploitation to be successful, and that you can achieve global success ethically.”
Also, 17,740 farmers are benefitting from living income cocoa prices due to Tony’s Open Chain, which is 20% more than the previous year. Tony’s was able to achieve this whilst generating a record €28m (+23% YoY) rise in chocolate revenue, reaching an annual revenue of €150m.
“Our efforts have been recognised through multiple awards, such as the Chocolate Scorecards Achievement Award,” added Mr Baltussen. “In the Netherlands, our biggest market, we have also won the Most Sustainable Brand Award for the sixth year in a row, awarded by the Sustainable Brand
Index. Additionally, our new product, Lil’ Bits, was announced as winner of the Wheel of Retail’s chocolate category.”
Locked in
Due to Tony’s international success, the company now has 18 mission allies for Tony’s Open Chain from all across the globe. The most recent being Waitrose, which is the first UK retailer to join the initiative.
Waitrose has now committed to operate using Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles, as nine own-brand chocolate bars, including Cooks’ ingredients bars, are now sourced via Tony’s Open Chain. Through the collaborative initiative, Mission Allies are encouraged to compete on chocolate, but collaborate on cocoa.
Tony’s hopes to see a world with exploitation-free chocolate through its 5 Sourcing Principles. Also, by campaigning for governments to update legislation,
for retailers to change how they source cocoa and for consumers to purchase more consciously.
“Existing UK legislation is outdated and ineffective, as over 40 per cent of companies fail to comply,” commented Mr Baltussen. “Tony’s is campaigning for better legislation so that products sold on British shelves don’t harbour environmental harms or human rights abuses in their supply chains.”
The introduction of Mission Lock last year is protecting Tony’s work into the future. Tony’s Mission Lock is a legal structure with a golden share to prevent any legal changes to the definition of Tony’s mission, Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles or any other missionrelated articles.
“We are an impact company that makes chocolate, not a chocolate company that makes an impact,” added Mr Baltussen, in conclusion. “Mission Lock demonstrates the dedication to our mission – even if the team or ownership structure changes at Tony’s in the future, the mission cannot be diluted.” n
