In today’s episode, we chat with the awesome Ben Greensmith aka Lord Chocolonely the Third, the UK and Ireland Country Manager for Tony’s Chocolonely.
Tony's Chocolonely dates back to 2003 when Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken learned of widespread modern slavery and illegal child labour across cocoa farms in West Africa. What makes Van de Keuken's findings even more remarkable was that some of the world's leading chocolate manufacturers had signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol agreeing to the eradication of slavery and child labour from their supply chains just two years prior.
Where the voluntary protocol failed, Tony decided to do something about it. Demanding that a local judge convict him of supporting child slavery because, by paying for chocolate, he was supporting the exploitation of minors. When the case was dismissed, he tried to change the industry from within to show there's a way to be a successful chocolate manufacturer that doesn't involve the exploitation of West African communities and that's exactly what they’ve been doing ever since.
From Tony's humble ‘lonely’ beginnings, Tony's Chocolonely has grown into a global brand, available in all 50 states of the US, the UK, and across Europe, as well as becoming the largest chocolate manufacturer in the Netherlands. With revenue in excess of €100 million, Tony’s shows no signs of slowing up, with the recent acquisition of Belgium chocolate manufacturer Althaea-De Laet international to the construction of a new factory and visitors centre north of Amsterdam. All indicate a period of exciting growth to come for a firm crazy about chocolate and serious about people.
During this fantastic episode, we focus on:
- A background to Ben, Tony's amazing journey and why they do the work they do today.
- Cocoa as the heart of many economies in West Africa, especially in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana where more than two million farmers produce nearly 70 percent of the world's cocoa.
- The Harkin-Engel Protocol
- The challenges of the chocolate industry having a child labour rate of 46.5% and how by proactively looking for child labour means you can look to fix the root cause of the problem i.e., poverty at the earliest point of the cocoa supply chain is the key driver of child labour.
- Farmgate Price & Tonys Premium
- Partnerships, Tony's FAIR, The Chocolonely Foundation and Bitter Chocolate Stories together with
- Key thoughts and takeaways.
🔗 CONNECT WITH BEN:
💻 Website: https://tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en
👥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengreensmithlordchocolonelyiii/
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
💡 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/cadbury-exposed-dispatches
💡 https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80146284
💡 https://tonyschocolonely.com/nl/en/join-in/the-chocolate-case
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