It all started when Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken, or “Tony”, turned himself in in 2003 on charges of being a “chocolate criminal”. His crime? Paying for the chocolate he used exploitative practices along the cocoa value chain. After a trial, he was found not guilty of the crime, but he decided to turn chocolate into a vehicle that could spread awareness about all the things that needed to change in the cocoa industry.
And so, in 2005, Tony’s Chocolonely was born, with its bright packaging and punchy message. Almost 20 years later, little has changed in the spirit of the brand. Strong marketing stunts are still central to what it does because it draws people’s attention to the pressing issues that are least talked about.
Smart branding to adopt on the Goliaths of the sector
Take Tony’s 2021 Advent Calendar, for example. The company deliberately omitted chocolate on one of the days to highlight inequality in the cocoa industry.
This attracted a lot of attention and ire, but ultimately achieved its purpose of alerting consumers to the core problem, said Ben Greensmith, Tony’s head in the UK and Ireland. Fortune.
“It has done a tremendous job for us in terms of increasing brand awareness and awareness of the issue,” he said. “So we rely on stunts to get attention.”
Tony’s approach may be different for a relatively new and unassuming chocolate maker, but the results speak for themselves. The Netherlands-based company is now a big phenomenon in its home country with around 20% of the market share, but also in the UK, where it is now the fourth most popular chocolate in Britain after Galaxy, Lindt and Cadbury, according to Nielsen data. In just under five years, Tonys’ UK turnover has reached £40 million ($50.5 million) and is the fastest growing confectionery brand in the country. The company is also reaching chocolate lovers in the United States, where they now sell it in Walmart stores.
Courtesy of Tony’s Chocolonely
Tonys’ rapid growth can sometimes feel like it’s eclipsing what the brand stands for. But with a mix of clever packaging and bold campaigns, it keeps its purpose at the top of consumers’ minds. For example, its chocolates are divided unequally (unlike other bars which are divided into symmetrical squares or rectangles) to serve as a constant reminder of the inequality that comes with cocoa sourcing.
“We are a small player. [We] they don’t have the clout, the purchasing power of these big chocolate companies,” Greensmith said.
Cost challenges
Tony has distinguished himself with tongue-in-cheek marketing stunts, but continues to face the same problems as the rest of the chocolate industry.
The cocoa industry has been hit simultaneously by both poor harvests and increased demand. This sent chocolate prices soaring as producers passed on higher raw material costs to consumers, and Tony was not spared. The chocolatier has increased prices by 7% across Europe (but not yet in the UK, it’s unclear why), but Greensmith admits it has been a challenge to ensure this gets through to the growers.
“The way cocoa is marketed… all the money is made by the middle companies, and the farmers don’t see any of the benefits,” Tony’s British boss said. “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 the “Sweet Solution” campaign first launched in 2021, the company introduced a series of chocolate wrappers similar to those of other large, recognizable chocolate companies to raise awareness of child labor in the food supply chain. cocoa. The move very quickly triggered a backlash from the implicitly imitated companies, which ultimately led to the bars being removed from UK supermarkets.
But last month, once again, Tony’s found itself in the crosshairs of Mondelez in Germany and Austria for imitating their packaging in one of their advertising campaigns. The Dutch company is appealing the injunction, but says it remains committed to the cause it was trying to bring attention to.
“We have to show that we can do all these things and also make a profit because we have to show those big chocolate companies that it is possible to have a commercially viable proposition, make money, do the right thing and grow a truly chocolate company. success,” Greensmith explained.
In its own way, despite the stumbles, Tony’s work has helped raise awareness in the UK of how the cocoa industry is being exploited from 10% to 40% in five years, market research firm IPSOS has found .
Tony’s spends about 7% of its revenue on impact-related costs, including paying a higher cocoa price that helps farmers earn a living income to support their farms. That’s why, Greensmith insists, Tony’s isn’t like the average chocolatier.
“We are not a chocolate company, let’s say we are an impact company that produces chocolate. So the impact comes first,” she said. “This is why we exist.”