Tony's Chocolonely: A Bittersweet Journey to Make Chocolate Slave-Free

Tony's Chocolonely is a Dutch chocolate company that prides itself on using slave-free labor within its supply chain. However, after it was revealed that the company's major supplier, Barry Callebaut, used child and slave labor to grow and harvest cocoa beans, Tony's Chocolonely was heavily scrutinized and the grassroots organization Slave Free Chocolate removed Tony's from its list of ethical chocolate brands. In early 2022, The Times of London reported child labor in Tony's supply chain. Responding, Tony's Chocolonely thoroughly explained how it paid extra to keep its cocoa beans ethically grown and turned into chocolate. However, some critics still believed the company's branding to be misleading. Later that year, Tony's Chocolonely achieved a higher B Corp rating and announced a partnership with Ben & Jerry's. The fictional protagonist is an advisor to the head of impact at Tony's, Paul Schoenmakers. She is tasked with presenting an end-of-year analysis of Tony's strategy and goals for the next year, causing her to reflect on the highs and lows the company has recently experienced and how these events and reactions should inform its social impact initiatives and branding strategy moving forward.