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A SUCCESSFUL BRAND FOR CAUSE: TONY`S CHOCOLONELY
- Azra Bayraktar
- Dec 15, 2025
- 10 min read
The last example, after we dealt with Soko, Yoni, M-Pesa, and Redlocker in our previous blog article for combining the social purpose with a high-quality product and the right marketing and branding strategy, is Tony`s Chocolonely. The famous Dutch brand is striving for 100% slave free chocolate and is a disruptor for its industry.
This brand was chosen again for my favorite book ``Brand the Change`` from Miltenburg.
For their introduction stage, Tony's Chocolonely company used a "100% slave-free supply chain" slogan. However, it was not easy to guarantee this claim because the supply chain consists of different tiers of suppliers, and it is not easy to guarantee the working conditions of third-tier suppliers. However, Tony's was the first chocolate brand that brought this issue into the spotlight, and they changed their claim to ``Together we`ll end the exploitation in cacao. They choose to be open about the problems and are still working on it, and the popularity also Market share of the brand is still growing (Statista, Tony`s Market Share).
The Story and Purpose of the Brand
The brand creative story by Brand Head Designer Arjen Klinkenberg can be watched in this blog post of Miltenburg (https://www.youtube.com/@BrandTheChange):
He mentioned that 2.500.000 farmers are located in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where they produce more than 60% of Cacao of the world's cacao with a small woodland. Worldwide, there are 5.500.000 cacao farmers in South America\ Africa, and Ecuador, which was controlled by 10 big brands like Nestle, Mars, Ferrero, etc., the flow of cacao. This would cause huge control and also sometimes room for exploitation, like 2.300.000 children are working in those fields. There is a distinction between child work and labor. Child labor means that these children do not go to school; they have to work under hard conditions, like heavy lifting, dangerous, and sharp objects. Even human trafficking between or within the country could be a problem for them. They worked sometimes without payment, without leaving the plantation, without being allowed to see their parents.
In September 2001, chocolate and cocoa industry representatives (like the President of M&M/Mars, Inc., Hershey Food Corporation, Nestle Chocolate &Confections USA, Bloommer Chocolate etc., Barry Callebout etc.) signed an agreement called Harkin and Engel Protocol, developed in partnership with Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Eliot Engel, to prevent worst forms of child labour by 2005 in the growing and processing of cocoa beans also their derivative products wherever cocoa is grown (Harking; Engel 2001).
Unfortunately, from 2002 to 2005, nothing happened (Klinkenberg 2021). In 2003, in the Netherlands, 3 journalists, including the founder of Tony`s Chocolonely, Teun van de Keuken, found out the industry`s bitter truths on the Dutch TV Keuringsdienst van Waarde. (Tony,s Timeliproduce) They also tried to raise awareness with public stunts at raise awareness but they did not have much power against the big companies, so they decided to produce their own chocolate bar without exploiting other people, and they called it Tony`s Chocolonely.
Brand Design of Tony’s Chocolonely:
From the branding perspective, although the initiative was very good, the brand name selection was not appropriate. It was too long, hard to pronounce, etc. So they decided to work with Klinkenberg from the Lava company (Klinkenberg 2018). He designed a wrapper for that
First Tony`s Chocolonely Wrapper
From the design perspective, they cut the letters by hand, did not use brown, did not use coated paper, and did not use any chocolate or cacao picture on the package to differentiate themselves from the competitors. Because the only thing that they were able to tell their story was the product on the supermarket shelf. After that, they designed chocolate as unequally divided to symbolize that the chocolate industry is still unequally divided.
These unequal parts also represent cacao-producing countries like Ecuador.
Tony's Chocolonely - unequally divided chocolate bar
It was also a PR stunt. Especially focusing on the striving for the 100% slave free aspect
Brand Extension Strategy for Tony`s Chocolonely
A year later, they offered another blue wrapper because in Holland red was associated with dark chocolate and blue with milk chocolate. Therefore, red milk chocolate was confusing for some customers, and they offered another dark chocolate with a blue wrapper and green for hazelnut.
Their slogan also reflects their mission and values. `` Crazy about Chocolate, serious about people``. (Klinkenberg).
Tony’s Milestones after 2014
In 2014, they started to pay cocoa farmers a living income premium in addition to the Fairtrade premium. So Tony`s 5 Sourcing principles are put into practice (Tony`s timeline).
In 2016, they installed their own cocoa butter tank at Barry Callebaut. Their cocoa butter is now 100% traceable.
Tony`s Open Chain and Mission Allies:
In 2019, they launched their Open Chains and began to cooperate with other Partners like supermarkets Albert Heijn in the Netherlands under the name of Mission Ally.
In 2021, they produced the Sweet Solutions campaign with 4 chocolate look-alike bars. and crossed the 100 Million Euro revenue mark.
In 2022, Ben & Jerry`s Joined Tony`s Open Chain, and that year, Tony`s received the highest BCorp Score.. Now they have 12,5, and there are very few chocolate companies that was listed as a chocolate brand. Today, Tony’s has one of the highest B Corp Scores among other Brands (BCorp-Chocolates).
In 2023, they created Tony`s Mission Lock as a legal mechanism to secure that the 5 Principles that lie at the heart of the brand could not be changed if the company exists, regardless of shareholder structure. For that reason, they have 3 Mission Guardians: Seth Goldman (, Founder of Honest Tea and Eat the Change as well as Chair of Beyond Meat), Ikenna Azuike (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikenna_Azuike )social and climate activist and Lawyer for West Africa & Anne-Wil Dijkstra (Tony’s former Chief of Impact, Operations and People & Culture), with the responsibility to protect Tony`s mission. (https://tonyschocolonely.com/pages/mission-lock)
They also mentioned their marketing beliefs (which we will discuss in the coming blog article as a Brand core) in the following ways (Klinenberg, 21.49).
Their Mission statement: Slave free chocolate is the one and only objective.
Core Brand Values: Outspoken, entrepreneurial, willful, and makes people smile are the leading values for all activities.
Then do not use paid media (Like the billboard). They believe in direct relationships with the cocoa farmers and with their cacao fans. Using their products only.
They are using a communication strategy, pull instead of push and inspire and activate cacao fans to join them.
Tony’s Open Chain Impact:
They used the inside of their wrapper as the recipe for slave free chocolate and asked their customers to share this with big chocolate companies and politicians.
So, one of their chocolate fans did it and tagged the recipe as Nestle. Nestle came to Tony`s and asked how they did this.
They also put another link for their product's web page explaining how many Cacao Beans are in one package and guiding them to the impact page to include their customers in their cause.
Also, on their website, they have the Tony’s Open chain to inspire the industry norms and collaborate with other partners like retailers Aldi, Ben and Jerry`s, and Albert Heijn Supermarkets (Tony’s Openchain).
They would like to always be open and honest about the pretty and not-so-pretty things.
Each year, they present their annual report called the fair report (in English and French), and they organize a fair where the fans and shareholders can come together and have a direct relationship.
In general, they have 5 Sourcing Principles: traceability, higher prices, long-term commitments, strong farmer partnerships, and enhanced quality and productivity. To realize this, in 2014, they started to pay their farmers
They also organize Open Chain days to have a bigger impact on the industry. As they have explained on their Our promise " website, the cacao industry consists of different shareholders, and each of them has different jobs to fulfill.
Tony`s 5 Sourcing principles
In order to understand the contribution of the brand to the industry, we have to look at these 6five underlying principles closely (https://www.tonysopenchain.com/our-approach/tonys-5-sourcing-principles).
1) Traceable Cocoa beans: With their tracking software Bean tracker, their beans from the cacao farm through the supply chain are tracked when they are placed on lorries, delivered to the warehouses in large containers (https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704/21/).
2) A higher price: They paid the Living Income Reference Price for their farmers, including a certification premium. Also, their partners paid 44% above the main crop farmgate price in Cote d’Ivoire and 18% above the main crop farmgate price in Ghana (https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704/29/#zoom=true). (https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704).
3) The Long-Term: To sustain a long-term resilience for their farmers, guaranteed buying for the yield in the future enables the farmers to plant new cocoa trees. With the Memorandum of Understanding, Tony's is guaranteed at least 5 years of collaboration via a unique asymmetrical contract that offers partners the opportunity to sell their cocoa elsewhere. With that, they commit the farmers and cooperatives to purchase set volumes of cacao at a specific price level over several years. This is also important to develop a 5-year strategic plan with their partners (https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704).
4) Strong Farmers: In order to change the inequality, they work with a partner cooperative owned and run by the farmers. They are the direct link between cocoa farmers and Tony`s Open Chain. With 20.296 farmers Tony`s reached in 2023/24, we reached 0.86% of the 2.5 million West African Cocoa farmers (https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704/23/).
5) Quality and Productivity: In order to fight against the outcomes and the effects of climate change on cocoa production, Tony`s cooperated with Wageningen University and Research to conduct a high-level assessment of productivity trends overall production in Cote d`Ivoire and Ghana. Because of climate change, many farmers suffered revenue loss and took loans to cover their basic needs like education, healthcare, and food. For that Tony`s offers personalized knowledge to the farmers and develops information about seedings, fertilisers, shade trees, pruning, and replanning, enabling bulk purchases at lower cost to improve the cost efficiency, even implementing projects like Climate42’s innovative FarmSmarter application (https://farmsmarter.app/) to optimize their decision-making systems https://online.flippingbook.com/view/296860704/41/.
Tony`s Promise
The Responsibilities of the shareholders have been explained as follows (Tony`s Promise):
The Choco fans: Like for Choco fans to ask chocolate companies to be transparent, choose consciously, and buy chocolate bars made from fairly traded sources of cocoa. Also taking an active part by signing petitions, supporting campaigns, and using their social networks to support the cause slave free chocolate.
The Cocoa Companies: Committing to Tony`s 5 sourcing principles, like using traceable beans, paying the farmers a higher price (that enables farmers to earn a living income), and having long-term relationships with their farmers so they become stronger with improved productivity and quality.
The Retailers: Stocking fair products on their shelves and offering in-house chocolate products that are sourced ethically. Not skimping on price, so a higher price would enable cocoa farmers to earn a living income, and insist on traceability.
The cocoa farmers: Committing to ending child labor, forced labor, and exploiting their own communities. Improving productivity and reducing dependency on cocoa. Implementing responsible and sustainable practices in their business.
And finally, for the governments: Holding accountable for what happens in the supply chain and implementing HREDD legislation.
Tony’s Marketing Strategies
Tony's implemented several marketing techniques, from one-to-one relationships within their superstores to integrating shareholders —retailers, suppliers, and customers —into their communication strategy, very successfully. A couple of examples can be seen as follows:
The Super Store Customized Chocolates
They also have a store near their office in Amsterdam to interact more closely with their fans, and they call it Tony`s Super Store and customize your own chocolate
They are really serious about gaining customers as friends and encouraging them to share their chocolate and share their stories.
Personal Visit to Tony’s Super Store:
I had the chance personally to visit the iconic store in October 2025. My impression of the store was also very positive. The store design provides an immersive experience to visitors. The brand ambassadors greet the customers at the entrance. Always eager to give information about the brand essence of being `` Slave free chocolate`` and encouraging you to join this movement.
Within the store, they paid attention to sharing the story of the brand. The story of the brand was easy to follow on the walls, and they also honored their Mission Allies like Albert Heijn supermarkets, Aldi, Ben and Jerry's, everywhere.
In that store, they were only producing mass customized chocolates, which was a good one-to-one marketing. After creating your own chocolate, you have to wait two hours and come again to buy it.
Unfortunately, we were a little bit late, like 16.00, and the store was closing. I did not have the chance to produce my own chocolate, but still I bought my Advent calendar 😊 .
What I also liked at the end was the canvas shopping bag that they gave us. I mentioned in my previous blog that companies should pay attention to every detail while creating their cause-related brands. One of them was the promotional activities, like promotional material that we are giving to our customers, like bags, hats, pens, cups, etc. If you are claiming to be a sustainable brand giving away plastic pens, cups, etc., or bags produced not in fair condition, you are contradicting your own philosophy and brand vision, which we are going to deal with in my next blog, `The Brand Core`.
Tony`s Chocolonely made its commercial strategy in the right way. They used, as you can see, a canvas produced ethically, and they are also supporting another NGO with that bag. I was also proud to carry it with me on that day and make a free advertisement for the company😊.
After analyzing these two brands, Redlock- Yoni Corporations and Tony`s Chocolonely further, I would like to go into deeper as Miltenburg mentioned in her book, building the first step of your brand, the brand core. Here you will find details about the brand vision, mission, brand promise, and brand essence
See you soon...
Azra Bayraktar, October 2025.
References
B Corp Score for Chocolate Brands: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/?query=sustainable%20chocolate&sortBy=companies-production-en-us
B-Corp Score for Tony’s: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/tonys-chocolonely/
Harkin-Engel Protocol: https://www.cocoainitiative.org/knowledge-hub/resources/harkin-engel-protocol.
Klinkenberg, Arjen: ``The story of Tony`s Chocolonely``, retrieved from on 16 September 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbYmjcmYBc.
Lava Design Studio: https://lava.nl/studio/
Miltenburg, Anne: ``The Brand Change``, BIS Publishers, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2017, ISBN: 978-90-63947-8-4.
Statista: Tony`s Chocolate Market Share, https://www.statista.com/statistics/942628/revenue-market-share-of-tony-s-chocolonely-in-the-netherlands
Tony`s 5-sourcing-priniples: https://www.tonysopenchain.com/our-approach/tonys-5-sourcing-principles
Tony`s Inside of the Wrapper: https://us.tonyschocolonely.com/products/dark-milk-pretzel-toffee-42
Tony`s Mission Lock: https://tonyschocolonely.com/pages/mission-lock
Tony’s Sweet Solution Campaign: https://nl.tonyschocolonely.com/blogs/press-releases/tonys-chocolonelys-sweet-solution-look-alike-bars-are-back-for-good
Tony`s Open Chain: https://www.tonysopenchain.com/
Tonys-timeline: https://tonyschocolonely.com/pages/tonys-timeline
Tony’s Videos:
Tony’s Brand Story Video: https://youtu.be/1ha2IUUHUZ8
Tony’s Brand Story Video by Klinkenberg: The story of Tony`s Chocolonely``, retrieved from on 16 September 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbYmjcmYBc.
Tony’s `A Sweet Solution to a Bitter Truth Campaign video: https: //youtu.be/j7awChZJGP0
Tony`s ``Our Promise``: https://us.tonyschocolonely.com/pages/our-promise#sectionid-5
Tony's ``Unequally divided chocolate bar Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ha2IUUHUZ8
Tony`s Shop Videos: https://tonyschocolonely.com/cdn/shop/videos/c/vp/7227ed640f0f4df08dacf70a3656c50a/7227ed640f0f4df08dacf70a3656c50a.HD-1080p-7.2Mbps-36379046.mp4?v=0/
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