Two companies renowned for their social justice campaigns, Ben & Jerry's and Tony's Chocolonely, have teamed up on an initiative to end modern slavery and child labour in the chocolate supply chain.
In January 2023, the two firms are set to launch Chocolatey Love A-Fair, a new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavour based on the Tony's Chocolonely milk caramel sea salt bar.
In addition, Tony's Chocolonely will launch two new chocolate bars, Tony's Chocolate Love A-Fair, based on Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Fudge Brownie variants.
'Amplified Commitment'
"We began this journey seven years ago, when we first partnered with Fairtrade co-ops in Côte d'Ivoire, and this is the exciting next step in our cocoa journey as we amplify our commitment to farmers, equity, and ethical sourcing," commented Cheryl Pinto, Ben & Jerry's global head of values-led sourcing.
All cocoa beans used in the new launches will be sourced through Tony's Open Chain, which helps companies take steps to end modern slavery and child labour in the chocolate industry.
In addition, Ben & Jerry's will also commence converting its ice cream portfolio to Tony's Open Chain, prioritising the cocoa in its ice cream base mix. It will also commit to Tony's 5 Sourcing Principles, which means, among other things, paying a fee to further support the partner co-operatives in Côte d'Ivoire.
Mission Ally
"We are thrilled that Ben & Jerry's joins us as a Mission Ally in Tony's Open Chain," commented Joke Aerts, Tony's Open Chain lead at Tony's Chocolonely.
"Not only will this partnership see large volumes of cocoa beans sourced via Tony's Open Chain, but collaborating with one of the world's most-loved social justice companies truly puts our initiative on the map internationally and proves that our way of working is a solution for all players in the cocoa industry."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
