Dutch chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely , whose mission is to “make all chocolate 100% slave free”, has raised an additional €20 million of capital from its existing shareholders.
Verlinvest – Tony’s Chocolonely’s majority shareholder – has increased its stake in the company and gained 64% of the voting rights. JamJar has also made an additional investment. The full funding round is subject to regulatory approval in the Netherlands.
Tony’s Chocolonely Lead Export and Travel Retail Ivan van Kooten said: “Following a strong business growth last year, the injection will enable us to further boost our international growth and accelerate our impact in West Africa.
“More bars and beans sold means more beans bought at a living income price, so more positive impact on the lives of cocoa farmers.”
Tony’s Chocolonely Chief Executive Officer Douglas Lamont commented: “This investment will help us accelerate our progress towards our mission of ending exploitation in the cocoa industry.
“The funding will be used to support the rapid global growth we are delivering in both Tony’s Chocolonely, our chocolate business, and Tony’s Open Chain, our global business-to-business ethical bean trading company.
“I am delighted that all the funding was raised from within our existing shareholder base, who we know are all committed to supporting our long-term mission. With this new investment, with our governance structure and with our recently introduced Mission Lock, we will all remain fully focused and committed to delivering on our mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry,” Lamont added.
As reported, Tony’s Chocolonely introduced the Mission Lock legal structure to secure its mission to have all chocolate 100% slave free indefinitely, regardless of shareholder structure. Mission Lock takes a ‘golden share’ in the company, ensuring that amendments to Tony’s mission or its Five Sourcing Principles, cannot be made without the approval of this new governing structure.
It is being overseen by an independent foundation, supported by three Mission Guardians with a strong track record in social impact and sustainability spheres. Their responsibility is to act as representatives for Tony’s mission.
The guardians include entrepreneur Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea and Eat the Change and Chair of Beyond Meat, who will chair Tony’s Mission Lock. Goldman is joined by journalist and social activist Ikenna Azuike and Anne-Wil Dijkstra, Tony’s former Chief of Impact, Operations and People.
Last year, Tony’s Chocolonely substantially increased its payments to cocoa suppliers, and called on other chocolate manufacturers to do the same.
Tony’s Chocolonely is known for its “unequally divided” chocolate bars, designed to underline the inequality in the cocoa and chocolate industries.
The brand’s name is a nod to co-founder and Dutch journalist Teun van der Keuken. Tony is the anglicised version of his first name. Chocolonely is a nickname he took on as a “lonely fighter against the inequality in the cocoa industry”. Tony’s Chocolonely leads by example, building direct, long-term relationships with cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, paying them a higher price and working together to solve the underlying causes of modern slavery and child labour. |
