Delicate-bars with Tony’s Open Chain cocoa
We're kicking our mission into a higher gear. With Tony's Open Chain platform, we make all our tools and ways of working available to other companies. For free of course. Albert Heijn is our first ally to use our sourcing principles for their chocolate brand Delicata.
Website tonysopenchain.com
With Delicata as the first on board with our Tony's Open Chain platform, we are also launching the website www.tonysopenchain.com. And, this "open source" web platform will grow into a resource in the coming years where chocolate companies can find all the necessary knowledge and tools to put an end to illegal child labour and modern slavery. You know, like Tony's Beantracker or the "Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System", which has been introduced at all our partner cooperatives.
Our first (mission) ally: Delicata
Albert Heijn is Tony's first mission partner. Their Delicata bars are made from traceable cocoa mass, produced by Barry Callebaut, the world's largest chocolate maker. The cocoa beans were purchased at a higher price from our partner cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast. This is a milestone, because we are accelerating our mission: making 100% slave free the norm in chocolate. Together with Barry Callebaut and Albert Heijn, we show that making chocolate can be done differently on a large scale and we are encouraging the industry to participate. Woohoo!
What about our mission again?
The industry must change. Extreme poverty is the root cause of social abuse in the cocoa industry. And the problem can only be solved if companies go beyond certification and pay a higher price than the certification premium. With Tony's five cooperation principles, a living income for cocoa farmer is achievable. In addition, anonymity leaves the chain. That way you know who grows your cocoa beans and under what circumstances. We work with around 5,000 cocoa farmers this way. But that's not enough to change the industry. In total, however, there are 2.5 million cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast. That is why we won’t only share our approach with Albert Heijn, but also with others too. Because together it goes faster. Who's next?