Tony's Chocolonely plummets into the red

Tony’s Chocolonely has incurred substantial losses this year, as a result of heavy investments in foreign expansion. This is explained in an interview by RTL Z with the man at the top, Henk Jan Beltman.

Increasing turnover

Tony’s Chocolonely is the largest chocolate brand in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 2005 and achieved a turnover of 55 million euros in the previous financial year, with almost 90% of its turnover coming from domestic sales.

This year’s turnover will continue to grow to 70 million euros, says CEO Beltman, although the exact figures are not yet available since the financial year only closes at the end of this month.

The official figures are only expected in November, but Beltman has already indicated that they are expecting a substantial loss for the current financial year. “I’ve been very much focussed on impact. The bank will want me to gain greater financial control.” Last financial year, Tony’s Chocolonely made a profit of 2.5 million euros.

Beltman has attributed the loss to the large-scale investments made by the chocolate company in a bid to grow internationally, such as appointing its own sales team in the United Kingdom, alongside heavy investment in the United States.