Tony’s Chocolonely expands with new UK-based mission partners

Tony’s Chocolonely, the ethically-focused impact brand has welcomed two new ‘mission partners’ for its core cocoa sustainable supply chain scheme, including food nutrition group Huel, whose specialist range of nutrition-enhanced products features a protein bar series among its offerings, writes  Neill Barston.

The second company to join forces with the Dutch-founded premium chocolate company is cheesecake brand Pleese, which has pledged to help combat major industry issues of child labour and modern slavery that exist within origin nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast.

As Tony’s explained, the two firms have become part of its Open chain initiative, a collaborative initiative started by Tony’s Chocolonely, inviting companies to join in its founding mission. Consequently, mew Pleese products are in development and cocoa sourcing for these products will be done according to Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles – a way of sourcing that addresses the complex issue of poverty in cocoa through concrete solutions.

The cheesecake business Pleese, which was founded by Joe Moruzzi in 2017, is the first UK company to become a Mission Ally. They entered the UK retail market in March 2023, securing nationwide listings in Waitrose and Co-op. Meanwhile, Huel is the brand on a mission to make nutritionally complete, convenient, affordable food. All the cocoa in Huel’s range will be sourced according to Tony’s Open Chain 5 sourcing principles, in which the company estimates that in one year this will mean an additional 300 metric tonnes of cocoa sourced according to Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles from Ghana and Côte D’Ivoire, and many more cocoa farmers enabled to earn a living income.

Both these companies will join global brands such as ALDI and Ben & Jerry’s who have already committed to sourcing cocoa via Tony’s Open Chain, since 2020 and 2022 respectively.
Tony’s believes in sharing not only their chocolate but also their impact model, which is why they launched Tony’s Open Chain in 2019. More Mission Allies joining Tony’s Open Chain means accelerated change within the chocolate industry.

By joining Tony’s Open Chain both Pleese and Huel commit to Tony’s Open Chain 5 Sourcing Principles including: sourcing fully traceable cocoa beans; paying a higher price for cocoa to enable a living income for farmers; building long-term relationships to boost farmers’ income security; promoting strong partner cooperatives to professionalize cocoa farming; and increasing cocoa productivity and quality.
Joe Moruzzi, Founder of Pleese, comments: “Tony’s Open Chain is an initiative I feel very passionate about and even though we are a small business, the more of us who join, the sooner we will make all chocolate 100% slave-free. We’re currently in development stages to expand our product line and by becoming the first Mission Ally in the UK, we are committed to increasing system change across the industry.”

Jessica Sansom, Sustainability Director, Huel comments: “Huel is super excited to be joining Tony’s Open Chain. We strongly believe that it is possible to create a sustainable food system, and Tony’s mission and work in West Africa is proving what is possible. The 5 sourcing principles are holistic, the approach is collaborative, and the results speak for themselves. We are looking forward to working alongside other Mission Allies, and calling upon other brands to join Open Chain and make a difference.”