Business

6b.Tony’s Chocolonely: Raising the bar for slave-free chocolate

Tags: bizguide, bizguide-extract, business, case study, fair trade, impact, measurement
Published on January 16, 2020

Tony’s Chocolonely was founded 13 years ago by journalist Teun van de Keuken. Teun was shocked to discover that much of the chocolate sold in supermarkets was made by people working in slave like conditions. When he tried to discuss the situation with chocolate makers, many declined to discuss the issue.

Teun van de Keuken, journalist and founder of Tony’s Chocolonely

Malpractices in the cacao industry drove me to set up Tony’s. Many plantations in Western Africa practice slavery and child labour even today. That’s what we want to help to prevent.
Teun van de Keuken, journalist and founder of Tony’s Chocolonely

 

Being a journalist, Teun had investigated the number of children working on cocoa farms and how many were working under illegal and dangerous conditions. This was what motivated him to create Tony’s. 

From the outset, it was clear that a mission to eradicate modern slavery from all chocolate production went way beyond measuring Tony’s direct impact.

 

Alone we make slave-free chocolate, together we make all chocolate 100% slave-free. One of the main things we’ve learnt along the way is how difficult it is to change an industry. After 11 years we’re not there yet. We’re actively seeking partners who apply our model.
Teun van de Keuken, journalist and founder of Tony’s Chocolonely

Tony’s strategy roadmap to achieve the goal of 100% slave-free chocolate consists of three pillars: 

Extract from Tony’s Chocolonely annual report 2018/2019

It is these three pillars that form the measurable impact of Tony’s Chocolonely. The company also follows the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines for sustainable reporting as well as the usual financial accounting metrics. he metrics relating to their roadmap are their clear indicators of impact and success. In their 2018/19 annual report, this meant 13 key metrics linked to the three pillars.

The newest of these metrics is linked to the third pillar and is all about the start of Tony’s Open Chain, an open source platform where chocolate companies can access the necessary knowledge and tools to improve their supply chain. 

On its own, a certification label does not enable farmers to live above the poverty line and provide a decent income for their families. The way we see it, chocolate makers are responsible for their chocolate supply chain – not the certification inspector.
Teun van de Keuken, journalist and founder of Tony’s Chocolonely

 

Tony’s Chocolonely

Critically, Tony’s recognises that it cannot do it all by itself and its business goal can only be achieved in collaboration with others. This it acknowledges in the way it reports its impact, highlighting the contribution of others.

In 2018/2019 Tony’s Chololonely expanded to 143 employees with a revenue of roughly 70 million euros. Over 53 million of this revenue came from the home market of the Netherlands, and the business is now looking into international expansion. Take a look at the latest annual report here to find out more about the size and complexity of the problem, about what is going well for the business and what still needs to be improved. 

 

  • This is an extract from the forthcoming ‘The Business of Wellbeing – Alternatives to Business as Usual’ Guide, launching in January 2020. For more extracts, please click here
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