It all started when Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken, or “Tony,” reported himself as a “chocolate criminal” in 2003. His crime? Payment for chocolate that involved exploitative practices along the cocoa value chain. After a trial, he was found not guilty of the crime in question, but he made it his mission to turn chocolate into a vehicle that could raise awareness of all the things that needed to change in the cocoa industry.
And so Tony’s Chocolonely was born in 2005 – with its colorful packaging and expressive messages. Almost 20 years later, little has changed in the spirit of the brand. Loud marketing stunts continue to take center stage as they draw people’s attention to the less discussed, pressing issues.
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Take Tony’s 2021 Advent Calendar, for example. The company deliberately skipped chocolate on one of the days to highlight the inequality in the cocoa industry.
That attracted a lot of attention– and anger – but ultimately achieved the goal of making consumers aware of the core problem, said Tony’s UK and Ireland boss Ben Greensmith Assets.
“It helped us tremendously in increasing brand awareness and awareness of the issue,” he said. “That’s why we rely on stunts to get attention.”
Tony’s approach may be different for a relatively new, humble chocolate maker – but the results speak for themselves. The Netherlands-based company is now a major phenomenon in its home country with approx 20% of the market share, but also in the UK, where it is now the fourth most popular chocolate in the UK, after Galaxy, Lindt and Cadbury, according to Nielsen data. In just under five years, Tonys has achieved sales of £40 million ($50.5 million) in the UK, making it the fastest-growing confectionery brand in the country. The company is also reaching chocolate lovers in the US, where it now sells in Walmart stores.
Courtesy of Tony’s Chocolonely
Tonys’ rapid growth can sometimes feel like it’s overshadowing what the brand stands for. But with a mix of smart packaging and bold campaigns, it keeps its purpose top of mind for consumers. For example, his chocolates are unevenly distributed (unlike other bars, which are divided into symmetrical squares or rectangles) as a constant reminder of the inequality inherent in the sourcing of cocoa.
“We are a small player. [We] I don’t have the influence and purchasing power of these big chocolate companies,” Greensmith said.
Cost challenges
Tony’s has excelled at tongue-in-cheek marketing stunts, but continues to struggle with the same problems as the rest of the chocolate industry.
The cocoa industry has been hit by both poor and rising harvests demand at the same time. This has driven up chocolate prices as manufacturers have absorbed higher raw material costs passed on to consumers– and Tony was not spared. The chocolatier increased prices by 7% across Europe (but not yet in the UK – it’s unclear why), but Greensmith admits it was a challenge to ensure this trickled down to farmers.
“The way cocoa is traded… all the money is made by companies in the middle and farmers don’t see any of the benefits,” said the boss of Tony’s UK. “Like any business, we need to make a profit and do the right thing.”
Another challenge unique to Tony’s was the result of its bold marketing. As part of his “Sweet solutionThe campaign, first launched in 2021, saw the company introduce a range of similar-looking chocolate packaging, similar to other well-known major chocolate companies, to raise awareness of child labor in the cocoa supply chain. The move quickly triggered a reaction from the implicitly imitated companies, which ultimately led to the bars being removed British supermarkets.
But last month Tony found himself in the situation again Mondelez crosshairs in Germany and Austria for imitating their packaging in one of their advertising campaigns. The Dutch company is appealing the injunction, but says it stands by the issue it wanted to draw attention to.
“We have to prove that we can do all of these things and make a profit at the same time, because we have to show the big chocolate companies that you can have a commercially viable offering, make money, do the right thing and really grow a successful chocolate company,” explained Greensmith.
According to market research firm IPSOS, Tony’s work has, in its own way, helped raise the UK’s awareness of the exploitation of the cocoa industry from 10% to 40% in five years, despite all the stumbling blocks.
Tony’s spends about 7% of its sales on impact costs, including paying a higher cocoa price that helps farmers earn a living income and sustain their farms. That’s why, Greensmith points out, Tony’s isn’t like the average chocolatier.
“We are not a chocolate company, we say we are an impact company that makes chocolate. So impact comes first,” he said. “That’s why we exist.”