I want to take you to a gay bar

UPDATE: There will be no gay bar in 2019. We listened to last year's feedback and sat down twice with committed, critical Twitter users. In the coming year we will be talking to COC and Workplace Pride to look further. The rainbow wrapper is available all year round on request in our wrapper creator.

Pinkwashing. We had never heard of it. Until this week we drew attention to the gay bar for the third year in a row. A rainbow jacket for our bar and available all year round in our online chocolate shop. But... It was of course not a coincidence that we did that right now. Not only do our bars have all the colors of the rainbow, but the rainbow is now also the symbol for diversity and emancipation of the LGBTI community. That makes us happy! Because we are not only crazy about chocolate, but also serious about people. During Pride, we therefore give our gay bar extra attention and also sell it in our two stores. Because as far as we are concerned, equality starts with creating awareness and visibility.

But is that enough? We received many enthusiastic responses to the gay bar, but also critical comments. The gay bar is seen by some as a form of pinkwashing; using the LGBTI community as a marketing tool to be seen as progressive and tolerant, without contributing to it in other ways. Aaaiii... No matter how good our intentions are, we understand this somehow. With a gay bar alone, without further explanation or actions, we may not be standing up for the LGBTI community enough.

Let's first reveal some colours. Equality is the foundation of our existence and the basis of all relationships we enter into. With the farmers and cooperatives we work with, with our chocolate fans and within team Tony's. We therefore fully support the LGBTI community. We are really aware of the inequality they may face. Not only in the Netherlands, but everywhere in the world. So, a deafening applause for all organizations and individuals who are committed to changing this!

We also want to provide clarity; we do not financially support the LGBTI community. This is mainly because we spend our financial resources as much as possible on our mission; making slave-free chocolate the norm in the cocoa industry. We sold the gay bar 794 times last year via our online chocolate shop. The production process is labor intensive, so to be honest, we don't make that much money from this. We also want to say very clearly that commercial interest has never been a driving force to release the gay bar. That's not like that, Tony.

And now for practicality. Because when do we do it right? Should we stop selling the gay bar? Should we transfer the profits from the gay bar to an organization that promotes LGBTI rights? That would be a nice gesture, but these numbers won't make much difference. We want to look further than that. We are always open to learning and improving. We are happy with the discussion and curious about what else we can do to contribute. Better to be a bit naive than negative.

We have entered into discussions with a number of involved Twitter users, but also internally. Because for us the rainbow is not just a jacket, but is also in our chocolate. And we don't mind bumps in the road. It actually makes us better. Of course you will hear from us what we are going to do!