Barry Callebaut joins Dutch duo's launch of sustainable mass-market chocolate to end child labor

Dutch impact organization Tony’s Chocolonely, retailer Albert Heijn and chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut have forged a strategic partnership to end child labor and modern slavery in the chocolate industry.

From March 2019, Heijn’s private-label brand ‘Delicata’ will be made from fully traceable cocoa, bought at a higher price from ethical chocolate company Tony’s Chocolonely’s partner cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the three partners said in a statement.

Barry Callebaut, which will publish its own progress report on sustainability 6 December, has vowed to eradicate child labor from its supply chain by 2025. It hopes more of its customers will follow the Dutch supermarket chain’s example.

Increases pressure

Together the companies are setting a new industry standard that increases pressure on the wider chocolate industry to drive structural change to work towards a more equally divided cocoa chain.

With a mission to make 100% slave-free the norm in chocolate, for years Tony’s Chocolonely has been calling on companies to follow their example for cocoa sourcing based on direct relations with cocoa cooperatives, traceable cocoa and a living income for cocoa farmers.

The company shares full details of its transparent supply chain under Tony’s Open Chain – an open-source platform where chocolate companies can access the expertise needed to eliminate social issues from their own supply chain.

The platform includes tools such as Tony’s Beantracker and the Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System that has been implemented at all Tony’s partner cooperatives.

Segregated cocoa to chocolate

Albert Heijn, the biggest retailer in The Netherlands, is the first company to sign up for Tony’s Open Chain, while Barry Callebaut has enabled the partnership with its expertise in processing the segregated cocoa to chocolate.

"This is a giant step for the chocolate industry, and an important move towards making sustainable chocolate the industry standard by 2025​,” said Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Barry Callebaut.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to collaborate with both the biggest retailer in the Netherlands and a company as committed to its slave-free mission as Tony's Chocolonely, and we look forward to expanding this success story through our logistical expertise​.”

The three parties unveiled the news of their partnership at the recent Tony’s FAIR, Tony’s Chocolonely’s annual meeting in Amsterdam.