Ethical trading
Tony’s Chocolonely ethical brand to launch in UK next year
Tony’s Chocolonely, set up by three journalists in the Netherlands in response to stories of child abuse in the cocoa industry, is set to launch in the UK in early 2019 after successful roll-outs in Belgium, US and Sweden.
Tony’s head of marketing Pascal van Ham told the The Grocer the range aimed at the UK would be “based on the same portfolio of classic flavours we have now” – including the original milk chocolate bar.
Tony’s Chocolonely was founded in 2005 with an approach “to establish direct, equitable relationships with farmers, while also helping them to increase their productivity and improve their product quality.”
Each brightly wrapped Tony’s bar is unevenly divided to reflect the inequity often found in the cocoa supply chain.
The company claims it pays its cocoa farmer partners in Ghana and Ivory Coast more than Fairtrade, and retail prices for its ‘top mainstream’ bars reflect “the true price of chocolate” said van Ham. “If chocolate is very, very cheap, someone in Africa pays the price.”
The brand’s main aim is to “to make 100% slave-free the norm in chocolate.”
Tony’s Chocolonely last year recorded worldwide sales of €44.9m ($52m) – up 53% on the previous 12 months – with €2.4m ($2.8m) coming from the US. The Grocer also reported it recently overtook Milka as the Netherlands’ leading chocolate brand.
