How A Guilt Trip Built A $162 Mn Chocolate Empire

When Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken ate eight chocolate bars and tried to get himself arrested for "knowingly purchasing an illegally manufactured product," most people thought he was crazy.

Plot twist: That "crazy" stunt turned into Tony's Chocolonely - a $162 Mn brand that's making ethical chocolate mainstream.

This week, we're unwrapping how a journalist's protest became the fastest-growing chocolate brand in the world. (And yes, there will be chocolate puns. Sorry not sorry.)

The Sweet Origin Story 🍫

In 2005, van de Keuken did something wild. After exposing child labor in the chocolate industry, he:

1. Ate chocolate bars on camera

2. Called the police to arrest himself

3. Got denied by the courts

4. Decided to make his own ethical chocolate

Today, Tony’s Chocolonely has expanded beyond Europe, selling in major retailers like Whole Foods, Target, and Walmart across the U.S. They continue to grow, with revenue increasing by 23% in 2023 alone.

How They Cracked The Marketing Code

1. Made Ethics Instagrammable🤘

   • Created unequally divided chocolate bars to represent industry inequality

   • Used bright, impossible-to-ignore packaging

   • Turned every bar into a conversation piece

   • Result: Became Netherlands' #1 chocolate brand by 2013

2. Turned Guilt Into Growth 📈

   • Most ethical brands: "Feel bad about this problem"

   • Tony's approach: "Let's fix this problem together (and eat amazing chocolate while we do it)"

   • Made activism feel like a delicious adventure

   • Built a community of "Chocofans" who spread the message

3. The Pharrell Effect 🎸

   • Partnered with Pharrell Williams (yes, that Pharrell)

   • Created Black Ambition chocolate bars

   • Supported Black and Latinx entrepreneurs

   • Proved ethics and cool factor can coexist

The Plot Twists That Worked

1. The Custom Chocolate Play

   • Launched "Make Your Own" bars

   • Each custom order = new flavor data (Gold mine for marketers!)

   • Free R&D through customer creativity

   • Built hardcore brand loyalty

2. The Media Master Move

   • Partnered with Washington Post

   • Created "Conversation Starter Bundle"

   • Turned chocolate into journalism

   • Made eating chocolate feel like activism

3. The Mr. Beast Collaboration 

   • First American brand to join Tony's Open Chain

   • Tapped into Gen Z audience (After all, branding is all about getting the partnerships right!)

   • Made ethical sourcing cool for younger audiences

They're not selling chocolate. They're selling the chance to fix the world one bite at a time! A clear mission, paired with a great product, helps build a brand that resonates with consumers worldwide.

Marketing Moves Worth Stealing from Tony’s

1. Make Your Mission Memorable

   • Don't just have values - design them into your product

   • Tony's uneven chocolate bars are a masterclass in product storytelling

2. Turn Customers Into Activists (UGC>anything!)

   • Give people a story worth sharing

   • Make impact feel tangible and delicious

3. Let Your Product Do The Talking

   • Their bars spark more conversations than their ads

   • Every package is a mini billboard for their cause

The chocolate industry said ethical chocolate couldn't scale. Tony's built a $162M brand proving them wrong. Sometimes the best marketing strategy is simply being unreasonably committed to fixing something everyone else accepts as "normal."

Until next time..

P.S. Fun fact: While writing this newsletter, I "had to" eat two Tony's chocolate bars for research. The things I do for work... 🍫 😜