- Tony’s Chocolonely is a small business success story. Launched in 2005, the independent chocolate company has become a $162 million staple among young shoppers, competing with the likes of Lindt and Hershey. It has social media and Gen Z values to thank.
Sandwiched between Ghirardelli truffles and bags of Lindt on store shelves are colorful chocolate bars emblazoned with funky lettering: Tony’s Chocoloney products stand out.
Despite having less name recognition and higher prices than competitors, the Dutch chocolate is fast becoming a staple among young Americans.
The small sweets company was founded in 2005, but most devout fans probably didn’t hear about it until the past couple years. It’s now partnering with the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, ALDI, and Feastables, raking in $162 million annually with its chocolate bars and other treats.
Gen Z and millennials in particular are fueling that growth—hungry for a sweet snack with a deeper purpose.
Tapping into value-conscious Gen Z shoppers
Since the beginning, Tony’s has operated with two things in mind: the company mission and product taste.
The brand established itself as a fair cocoa producer in an industry riddled with forced labor and exploitation. Unwrap one of Tony’s chocolate bars, and you won’t find it divvied up in pretty little squares; its uneven pieces represent the wealth inequality in West Africa’s chocolate production.
Affluent young buyers—known for putting money where their values are—are on board with a $6 chocolate bar. They’re already in the candy aisles of Target, Whole Foods, and Walmart, with Costco and Kroger coming up.
“People want mission-driven brands. They want premium, and they want better for you—either better or healthier ingredients,” Dusan Vujovic, head of North America for Tony’s, tells Fortune. “This is a natural trend that Tony’s fits into. Our consumers are younger, higher-income consumers that retailers really want to get back into the stores. They all fight for that type of consumer.”
To drive its messaging and products, Tony’s has partnered with like-minded brands including The Washington Post, through its “Conversation Starter Bundle” featuring chocolate bars wrapped in packaging designed exclusively by the publication’s creative team. The business also joined forces with the Radio City Rockettes several times, creating exclusive candy bars and handing out samples after the iconic holiday shows in New York.
Most notably, however, is Tony’s connection with Ben & Jerry’s—another iconic brand known for its activism and fan-favorite flavors. The ice cream giant signed up to ‘Tony’s Open Chain’ network, sourcing cocoa for its products through Tony’s supply system. ALDI, Waitrose, and Feastables have also joined the pledge.
Tapping into viral social media moments to woo Gen Z
While Tony’s has been around for two decades, it didn’t actually turn to advertising until it found an organic way to connect with consumers. Social media was the entry point.
“We only started advertising two, three years ago. Before that, we were very anti-media,” Aidaly Sosa Walker, head of U.S. marketing for Tony’s, tells Fortune.
It all started with one viral TikTok trend: people pouring espresso over chocolate bars, slowly melting the bar into their mug before the coffee pours over. It was satisfying to watch—and Tony’s saw it as the perfect viral moment to get their products into the cultural zeitgeist.
“We saw that trend, which was using chocolate. So then we started working closer with this influencer sending more products,” Walker says. “We then identified multiple trends that we could tap into.”
Tony’s leaned into the social media craze, partnering with influencers across foodie, homemaking, and cooking communities on TikTok and Instagram. The company says a lot of this traction was natural—even among celebrities like Pharrel Williams and Idris Elba, who have shared their endorsements.
Their advertising blew up after Tony’s hit the shelves of Walmart in 2022; reaching more shoppers of different socioeconomic classes, the money-making success afforded a nicer marketing allowance.
“We were like, ‘Okay, we have a little bit of budget now, so let’s actively pick a few influencers that can speak to the mass chocolate audience, and to the Walmart shopper,’” Walker explains. “So we had a few influencers that we worked with that would go into Walmart, buy their chocolate, take it home, try it in the car, and do reviews.”
Another reason why Tony’s social media advertising strategy has worked so well is because there’s an emotional draw in the marketing. Young, chronically online consumers are known to have parasocial relationships with their favorite influencers. Watching their glowing endorsements of Tony’s as a sweet treat—and premium product—fosters a bond with the brand and drives the idea of the chocolate as a personal experience.
“It’s really adding to that emotional experience,” Walker says. “People feel like, ‘Okay, when I have this chocolate, it’s for me, it’s my treat. It’s the moment to myself.’ We see there’s an increase in consumer experience with that…having a moment of sanity has become more important.”
Tony’s top 5 marketing tips for small businesses
The chocolate industry is a tough nut to crack—a select few chocolatiers have the name recognition to withstand the test of time. Tony’s Chocolonely has already made space for itself with an international team of less than 500 employees, and a marketing budget dwarfed by giants like Cadbury, Mars, and Toblerone.
For other small businesses looking to enter a crowded market, Vujovic and Walker lay out five factors to keep in mind in advertising with a limited budget.
- Unite marketing and sales. Tony’s marketing and sales teams are in “lockstep,” instead of being further apart. Joining forces helps reinforce brand messaging.
- Be patient and don’t rush. Despite being in business for two decades, Tony’s didn’t go full throttle in the U.S. until a few years ago. That’s because it didn’t adopt the typical “move fast and break things” business mentality.
- Find and fluff core consumer base. Tony’s understood that its shoppers were young, affluent, and mission-driven, so it found the best way to push the brand was through popular social media trends.
- Understand your markets. As companies expand internationally, they must understand how their markets respond to their products. Through data collection, Tony’s knew U.S. shoppers were less value-driven than U.K. buyers, so marketed to each differently.
- Stand out on a shelf. Tony’s calls its whimsical chocolate bar packaging its “billboards,” as the bold wrapping on grocery shelves stands out among the flat color palettes. The eye always eats first.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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