No chocolate circus for loss-making Tony's Chocolonely

For the first time, the turnover of ethical chocolate maker Tony’s Chocolonely exceeded 100 million euro, but the company made a loss. A factory with a roller coaster will not be built, the focus is on international expansion.

Takeover

The company that has made fair, 100% slave-free chocolate its mission realised a global turnover of 109.6 million euros, almost a quarter more than in the previous financial year. The gross margin exceeded the target and rose from 42.4% to 46.2%, reports the chocolate maker in its annual report.

But there is a downside. Due to a series of exceptional costs, including the acquisition of the Belgian Althaea-De Laet factory in Borsbeek and the costs related to the plans for a spectacular own chocolate factory with roller coaster in Zaandam – the so-called Tony’s Chocolonely Chocolate Circus – the chocolatier booked a loss of 4.7 million euros. Without these one-off costs and depreciations, there was a net profit of about 1 million euros.

The planned factory will therefore not be built. The company wants to invest the resources thus freed in brand awareness and in raising awareness of the issues in the chocolate industry.

Changed strategy

Tony’s is no longer growing in its Dutch home market and now wants to fully focus on international expansion. The company is setting aside money to strengthen local teams: in Belgium, Tony’s will be starting its own sales, distribution and marketing activities from 1 January.

Finally, the chocolate maker wants to increase its impact with the cocoa farmers. The company bought no less than 87% more cocoa beans through its Open Chain Platform, an initiative that allows other brands to make chocolate according to Tony’s 5 co-operation principles. Partners such as Albert Heijn, Aldi, Jokolade and Vly Foods increased the number of beans they jointly purchased through the platform by more than 237%.