Tony’s Chocolonely Brings In $21M To Expand Mission

Correction: A version of this story in today’s newsletter incorrectly stated that Verlinvest and Jam Jar will decrease their ownership, per the deal. These firms will increase their share counts while other smaller investors will sell shares.

Tony’s Chocolonely has tapped into its existing shareholder base to raise $21.8 million (or €20 million) that will see the organization accelerate the growth of its mission, brand and B2B business, according to an announcement Friday. The round saw participation from majority shareholder Verlinvest, investment firm Jam Jar and holding company Genuine Chocolate, among others.

The Netherlands-based company still needs to secure Competition Authority approval from regulators in its home country in order for the round to officially close. A few investors “will sell a small percentage of their stake” as part of the deal.

“This investment will help us accelerate our progress towards our mission of ending exploitation in the cocoa industry,” said CEO Douglas Lamont, in a press release. “I am delighted that all the funding was raised from within our existing shareholder base, who we know are all committed to supporting our long-term mission.”

Lamont can back up that long-term mission commitment claim too. Jam Jar is run by the founders of Innocent Drinks, where Lamont’s was last CEO before joining Tony’s. Investor Genuine Chocolate is a holding company started by Tony’s former CEO Henk Jan Beltman.

The news also puts some weight behind Tony’s performance over the past twelve months and Lamont said the new funds will go toward accelerating that rapid global growth. The company operates both its branded chocolate business, Tony’s Chocolonely, and a global business-to-business ethical bean trading company, known as Tony’s Open Chain. The chocolate brand sells a wide range of flavors and formats including Big Bars (6.35 oz.), Small Bars (1.8 oz) and Tiny Tony’s (0.32 oz.) as well as co-branded and seasonal chocolates.

In late May, Tony’s locked in its mission for the long haul via a new corporate governance structure. Known as the Mission Lock, the independent foundation is chaired by Eat the Change Founder and CEO Seth Goldman and supported by two Mission Guardians, Anne Wil Dijkstra, ex-Co-Captain of Tony’s, and Ikeena Azuike, a former lawyer turned social activist and broadcaster. That new structure gives Goldman, Wil Dijkstra and Azuike the ultimate decision-making power over proposals that affect how Tony’s does business.

As it shored up its sourcing model, in February the sustainable and ethical cocoa company brought on a second processing partner, Baronie & Cémoi, to give its Open Chain brand partners additional options for intermediary processors. Barry Callebaut, which has served as the company’s sole processing partner for the last decade, will continue to manufacture Tony’s transparently-sourced beans into chocolate.

Tony’s commitment to end modern slavery, child labor and deforestation has inspired numerous other companies to join the cause including wellness brand Huel, cheesecake maker Pleese and mission-driven ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s. Each has agreed to source a portion, or in the case of Huel all, of its cocoa through Tony’s Open Source chain in addition to introducing new products made with the transparent chocolate. With the new capital, Tony’s will have the bandwidth to bring in more mission-aligned names to that list.

“With this new investment, with our governance structure and with our recently introduced Mission Lock we will all remain fully focused and committed to delivering on our mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry,” Lamont said.