frequently asked questions - Tony's Chocolonely (2024)

So who is this Tony anyway? And what’s up with the Chocolonely?

Our company was founded by Teun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist who launched the crusade against (child) slavery in the chocolate industry on the consumer watchdog show Keuringsdienst van Waarde. Tony is the English equivalent of Teun. Teun was shocked to discover that slavery still existed in the cocoa sector. He tried to discuss the problem with the large chocolate makers, but they ignored him. So he took action. He decided to lead by example and make 5,000 Fairtrade chocolate bars himself. Tony’s Chocolonely was born.

And because he felt as if he was the only person in the chocolate industry who cared about eradicating slavery, he named his chocolate ‘Chocolonely’. Make sense? The chocolate industry was a lonely place for those crusading for 100% slave free!

Do you also consider the environment?

Of course! We expect farmers to treat the environment with respect. And we actively encourage the farmers who supply our beans to implement more environmentally friendly production methods. The cooperatives we work with receive training. This helps minimise the use of pesticides and ensures appropriate and economical use of chemical fertiliser. Deforestation is strictly prohibited. Climate change is an increasingly important issue for Tony's, particularly since cocoa farmers are directly affected. Drought and extreme heat increase the likelihood of failed harvests and affect the quality of the cocoa beans. Yet this is a trend that is expected to increase. At the moment, we offset our emissions through Justdiggit. We'll also be taking steps to reduce our emissions over the next few years. Ultimately, we want to ensure that whenever someone eats a bar of Tony's they're making a positive contribution to the environment.

In 2012 we also changed the wrappers on our bars. We now use uncoated, recycled FSC-certified paper. What?! Believe us, it's better for the environment. It means the wrappers on our bars are not coated with porcelain or kaolin. The paper is made from a mixture of recycled and FSC-certified paper. So, in a past life, the wrapper on your bar might have been the label on a jar of peanut butter or a box of chocolates! FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? And it is. It means the paper originates from sustainably managed forests. The foil we use contains as much recycled material as possible and we've also made it as thin as possible.

Why are your bars unevenly divided?

To us it doesn't make sense for chocolate bars to be divided into chunks of equal sizes when there is so much inequality in the chocolate industry! The unevenly sized chunks of our 180g bars are a nice way of reminding our choco friends that the profits in the chocolate industry are unfairly divided. Check out our handy video explanation here.

And in case you haven't noticed, the bottom of our bars represents the Equator. The chunks above are the Gulf of Guinea. Then from left to right you have Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin (terribly politically incorrect, we know, but we had to combine them to create enough space for a hazelnut), Nigeria and part of Cameroon.

What about all the other certification systems?

What type of paper do you use for your wrappers?

For our 180g wrappers (that's all of our big bars) we use 100g Cocoon Offset paper.

It's 100% recycled, uncoated offset paper with excellent whiteness (CIE 150). It's also FSC® Recycled and EU Ecolabel certified.

How did it all start?

Almost 15 years ago, Dutch journalist Teun (Tony) van de Keuken started investigating the use of slavery in the cocoa industry for the consumer watchdog show Keuringsdienst van Waarde. He was shocked to discover that most of the chocolate on supermarket shelves was made from cocoa harvested by slaves — and worse still, by child slaves. He decided to take action. First he approached some of the world’s largest chocolate makers, but they ignored him.

So he rolled up his sleeves and started to raise awareness of the issue. He ate a couple of chocolate bars and turned himself in to the authorities as a chocolate criminal. By eating chocolate, he was complicit in slavery. But the public prosecutor wouldn’t prosecute him. Teun didn’t give up. He went looking for victims of chocolate consumption. He found 4 boys who had worked as slaves on a cocoa farm in Ivory Coast and asked them to act as witnesses. They provided evidence against Teun and the 2,136 other chocolate consumers who had since joined Teun in his campaign. On 29 November 2005, still awaiting the judge’s decision, Teun decided to lead by example and make 5,000 Fairtrade chocolate bars. Tony’s Chocolonely was born.

The very first Fairtrade Tony’s Chocolonely bars hit the supermarket shelves in 2005. In 2006 the company became legit by registering with the Chamber of Commerce. We’ve been flying high ever since, but our number one priority has always remained the same. We want to eradicate slavery from the global chocolate industry.

Why is your chocolate Fairtrade certified?

When Tony's began, Max Havelaar (that's Fairtrade Netherlands) was the only organisation seeking to promote fair trade and better living conditions for cocoa farmers. To qualify for Fairtrade certification, production conditions must meet certain minimum social and environmental standards. Also, as a certification system, Fairtrade is most closely aligned with our mission, because it guarantees farmers a minimum price for their cocoa, and works with cooperatives. Having said this, as far as we're concerned, certification is simply a starting point: the first step on the way to a fair supply chain. We believe it's possible to do more. That's why we developed our 5 Principles of Cooperation.

Where does your cocoa come from?

In 2012 we started buying our cocoa mass directly from cocoa farmers in West Africa. We're now working with 7 cocoa cooperatives: 3 in Ghana (ABOCFA, Asetenapa and Asunafo) and 4 in Ivory Coast (Kapatchiva, ECAM, ECOJAD and SOCOOPACDI). All of these cooperatives benefit from our 5 Principles of Cooperation.

We want to create change in places where it’s most needed and always in a way that inspires the industry. That’s why we only work in West Africa, where over 60% of the world's cocoa is grown. This is where the social problems are most pronounced. It’s also where the chocolate giants get their cocoa. If we can implement fair business practices in Ghana and Ivory Coast, then the big companies can do it too!

Is your chocolate also organic?

ABOCFA is the first certified organic cooperative in West Africa. We support this, but organic farming doesn't necessarily deliver a better income for farmers in West Africa. Organic farming is a skill. To be good at it, farmers have to be professional. They have to have a great deal of knowledge and they also have to be able to invest in their farms. This is far from the reality for most cocoa farmers. So for the moment we're not seeking to make our supply chain organic. That's why it doesn't say 'organic' on our wrappers. For us, social impact comes first. At the same time, we do what we can to protect the environment.

Do you have a sugar-free bar or one with a sugar substitute?

At the moment we don't have any plans to produce a sugar-free Tony's bar or to produce one with a sugar substitute. Our mission is 100% slave- free chocolate. To achieve it, we have to make the most amazing ethically produced chocolate, so we can help cocoa farmers create a better future for themselves and inspire other chocolate makers to follow our example. In other words, we want to change the mainstream chocolate industry. Sugar-free bars are still too much of a niche product. Producing one won't help the cocoa farmers. But this may not always be the case. We do our best to always be one step ahead.

Where can I find your privacy policy?

Please clickherefor our privacy policy.

What’s your return policy?

We don’t accept returns.If, however, you have a problem or are unsatisfied with your order in any way, please send an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com.We can turn (almost) anything into chocolate!

Where can I find your terms and conditions?

Please clickherefor our terms and conditions.

Can I add a gift card to my order?

You can indeed - but currently, you can only add one to non-personalised orders. All you've gotta do is hit 'make it a gift' at checkout and select the option to add a gift card - *insert heartfelt message or your deepest, darkest secrets* - we promise not to look.

I have a discount code. Where do I enter it?

Lucky you!

Once you've secured the choco in your bag, you'll see a plus symbol next to 'I have a discount code'. This is where you can enter your code and save some chococoins.

Can I order on account?

How do I create an account and how do I log in?

Where can I find and change my account details?

How do I create a retail account?

Clickhere to register and create an account for our Chocoshop. You can register as a reseller (if you want to sell Tony's to your customers), business (if you want to give chocolate to your staff for free) or a consumer.

If you need help to create an account, please send us an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com. We’ll be happy to help!

Where can I find my invoices?

If you order something from our Chocoshop, we'll send you the invoice by email.

You can also find your invoice on your profile page. To access your profile page, first log in by clicking on the person icon in the top right of the screen. Once you're on your profile page, you can change your details and view your past orders, invoices and saved addresses.

I've found an empty Tiny Tony's wrapper, what is that about?

Sometimes our Tiny’s have a will of their own and run off before they can be popped in their packaging.. but rest assured, that does not mean you received less chocolate as we fill each Tiny box with chocolate based on grams (weight), so in this case, it was just a little mistake.

Appreciate that this can still be pretty heartbreaking, but hopefully knowing that you weren't shorted any choco makes things a lil sweeter :)

I want to change or cancel my order. How do I do that?

Send an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com, and we'll see if it's still possible to change or cancel your order.

Where’s my order?

If you really can't wait a moment longer, send an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com noting your order number. Your order number is on the confirmation email we sent you. You can also find it in the 'my orders' section of your account.

I have a complaint about my order. What should I do?

Ouch! We’re sorry to hear that. please send an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com. We'll be happy to help you find a solution!

What’s the delivery time?

Please expect up to 5 working days for your order to arrive.

Do you ship to PO boxes?

No. We only deliver to physical street addresses. Unfortunately we don't accept PO box numbers.

What do you charge for shipping?

Classic Bars (Wholesale):

Personalised Bars (Consumers):

Any questions? Please send an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com. We can turn (almost) anything into chocolate!

Do you also ship abroad?

Can I have items in my order delivered to different addresses?

No, unfortunately not.

Our chocolate postman can only deliver bars and other items to one address per order.

I want to upload my self made wrapper, how do I do that?

You can upload your design overhere. Drag your design file to the square box on the upload page (below) and watch the preview in 3D. Happy? Hit that order button to pick your flavour and number of bars. Enjoy!

What type of paper do you use for your wrappers?

Our bars aren't packed in one, but two separate wrappers. The first wrapper is a (1.5 grams) aluminum foil, as thin as possible. The second layer consists of a paper wrapper. Why packed separately? We just made it more easy for you to throw 'em away the right way once you finished your bar. The aluminum foil in the regular waste bin and the paper wrapper in the paper bin. Reeeeecycle!

Aluminium foil
For our large bars we use an aluminum foil that can be recycled via the regular waste flow. The benefit of the aluminum foil that we use at Tony's is that it is a foil that consists of one material (and isn't a composite of several layers). This way, the foil can be easily separated from other waste by the waste processor. Once separated, the aluminum foil can be recycled for 100%. That's how we like it!

*important note for when you finished your bar: it's best to throw away the aluminum foil in its entirety (not in several small pieces). This makes it easier for the waste processor to separate it from other waste in the recycling process. Easy does it!

Paper wrappers
The paper we wrap around our Tony's bars is made of Sappi Magno Natural pure fibers. Unbleached and uncoated. We used to use recycled paper, but unfortunately this paper is no longer available. What about another? At the moment there is no alternative of recycled paper available on the market that meets Tony's criteria in the areas of quality assurance, processability and look & feel. But ofcourse we'll continue to look for alternatives of recycled paper that do meet these criteria. That's a promise.

Do you have an example drawing and artwork specifications for me?

Of course we have 'em! Download (and upload) the template, artwork specifications and ruleshere.

I have a complaint about my personalised bar. Now what.. ?

I want to order 4000 or more personalised bars, how do I do that?

For larger orders, the ordering process goes through a Tony from the Chocofancare team. Send an email to mytonys@tonyschocolonely.com and we'll be here to help!

I want to (re)sell personalised bars, is that allowed?

Personalised bars are meant as a gift. Soooo it's not allowed to resell them. But hey.. it's much more fun to give 'em away, right?

Heeelp! My order has arrived, but my personalised bar(s) is missing in the delivery. What can I do?

No worries! Our personalised bars are shipped from a different location than our regular chocolate bars. Your personalised bar is getting wrapped in its unique jacket at our friends at Precision (the printing company we work with.) This means that combined orders don't always fall on your doormat at the same time. We expect you receive both parts of your order quickly. If this isn't the case, please let us know by sending an email to mailuk@tonyschocolonely.com.

What's the nitty-gritty?
For those placing combined orders i.e. A 'create your own wrapper' bar and additional classic Tony's bars, you will receive​​​​​​​ one order confirmation.

1 to 250 bars: 2 - 4 working days.

251 to 500 bars: 3 - 5 working days.

Can I find my designed wrapper somewhere?

Yeah, for sure! You can save your design via the wrapper creator. Make sure you are logged in first, so we know where to save your wrapper.

You can find your own designs on your profile page by clicking on 'my wrappers'.

How do I order a personalised bar?

So you want to design your own wrapper? Cool!

At the bottom ofthis page, you'll find information about pricing, delivery times, flavours and more. We also provided some examples for inspiration. For orders over £250 - we're not charging delivery costs. And keep in mind: one order = one delivery address.

Orders in our wrapper creator

Rather order via e-mail? We only do this for exceptional requests. Think about the Tony's text printed in different languages or using golden foil for texts/elements orrrr printing different names on the wrappers. We can do it all! Wohh..

For businesses
If you don't have a (business) account yet, make sure you make one first soooo you can save your wrappers, track your orders, download your invoices and lot's more!

What do you charge for shipping?

shipping costs are as follows:Personalised bars:

Personalised bars and classic bars: