Amsterdam is known for many things: tulips, cheese, coffee shops, prostitution ... but chocolate?

People queue up for so many things. To buy tickets, to get something to eat or to be among the first when a new product comes out. In Amsterdam, people queue up to make their own chocolate. Is the hype justified?

Tony's was founded by a journalist.

Tony's Chocoloney has an unusual origin story. Investigative reporter Teun (Tony) van de Keuken was working on a story about slavery in the chocolate industry. During his research, he discovered that the majority of supermarket chocolate was harvested by slaves. Even worse: by child slaves. He could not ignore this fact, he had to actively do something about it. In his indignation at being part of the problem himself by consuming chocolate, he made a voluntary disclosure. When this came to nothing, he quit his job without further ado. In an effort to make a change, Tony produced the first 5000 Fairtrade chocolate bars on November 29, 2005: that was the birth of Tony's Chocolonely.

Inequality is also evident on the chocolate bar.

When you open the packet of chocolate, you are amazed: it is neither square nor divided into rectangular pieces. There is an almost philosophical thought behind this: why should a chocolate be divided into uniform pieces when there is so much inequality in the industry? Nevertheless, the pieces are not divided arbitrarily: The bottom edge of the bar symbolizes the African west coast. The pieces above it are shaped to represent the Gulf of Guinea and the countries of Ghana, Togo and Nigeria, among others.

The Tony's Chocolonely store opens at ten o'clock in the morning and if you're not there by half past nine, there's a long queue. In the store, you can watch a short video explaining the history and aims of the chocolate. And that's a good idea, as a quick survey of the reasons why people were waiting in line revealed: Eliza from Vancouver was queuing because Tony's is very hyped on Instagram and TikTok, while Juan from Argentina and Ella from England were queuing more for the good taste. Very few of those waiting knew exactly what the message behind the brand was.

Difficult start for the new chocolate brand

The start in the chocolate industry was somewhat bumpy. In 2007, the company was sued by Dutch importer Belissimo for using the term "slave-free". Van de Keuken used the Max Havelaar fair trade label and its own investigations in Africa to prove that no slave labor was used in the production of its chocolate. The lawsuit was dismissed. Three years later, the Dutch TV show "Een Vandaag" reported that children had helped with the hazelnut harvest in Turkey. As a result, the chocolate manufacturer switched to a new supplier.

The highlight of the store in Amsterdam - and the reason for the long queue: you can put together your own type of chocolate - including self-designed packaging and a dedication. The customized chocolate is ready for collection after two hours. The popular gift is automatically split in half: After all, a joy shared is a joy doubled.

The Dutch chocolate was removed from the "Slave Free Chocolates" list.

However, Tony's Chocolonely may have lost its joy when the company was removed from the list of the US organization "Slave Free Chocolates" in 2021. According to a report by RTL, the company has been working with Barry Callebaut for years. Callebaut is one of the largest cocoa processors in the world and claims that there is child labor in its supply chain.

However, Henk Jan Beltman, CEO of Tony's Chocolonely, does not want to end the collaboration. "If we make the bars ourselves, big chocolate companies might say that it was impossible to work according to our principles on a large scale." Beltman, who is also a major shareholder in Tony's, said they "want to encourage the big boys in the cocoa industry to change".

The plan seems to have worked

A project that has worked: With its "Forever Chocolate" project, Barry Callebaut has set itself the goal of eliminating child labor from its supply chain by 2025, among other things. 

Despite the controversial collaboration with Barry Callebaut, the company won the "Stop Slavery Enterprise Award" from the Thomson Reuter Foundation in 2022. In the same year, the company began a cooperation with sports manufacturer Adidas, which, in addition to the sports shoe "Tenis Superstar Tony's Chocolonely", also launched an "Adilette" (a bathing shoe) with the logo of the Dutch chocolate manufacturer in Brazil.

No more purple for Tony's

Tony's Chocolonely is known for its colorful design. However, according to a ruling from February 2024, the purple packaging is no longer an option in the EU. The US food company Mondelez (known for Milka) has banned the chocolate manufacturer from using the color purple in its packaging and advertising due to the risk of confusion.

On their website, Tony's Chocolonely commented: "Instead of paying expensive lawyers [...] we should be talking about how every chocolate maker can pay cocoa farmers a price that gives them a living income ".

https://de.tonyschocolonely.com/

Sources:

Tony's Chocolate

Newspaper: Trouw from February 06, 2007

RTL article from February 15, 2021(rtl.nl)

Barry Callebaut Forever Chocolate progress report

Thomas Reuter Foundation

Adidas Brasil Website "Tenis Superstar Tony's Chocolonely"

FAZ from 24.02.2024

Decision of the Hamburg Regional Court dated February 22, 2024 (file number 315 O 30/24)

Copyright to pictures Ingrid Müller