Tony’s Chocolonely have standardised the iconic red wrapping on the Tony’s chocolate bar with Pantone, creating a new official colour – Tony’s Only Red.
The Dutch chocolate manufacturer was created in 2005 as a protest child exploitation and slavery in the chocolate industry.
This is why its official red colour is so bold and alarming.
Tony’s Chief Brand Officer, Sadira Furlow said: “Tony’s Chocolonely Only Red is more than a colour – it’s a bold statement of our mission to make the cocoa industry fairer while crafting chocolate that’s irresistibly tasty.
“It’s bold, it’s joyful, it’s powerful. And now, thanks to Pantone, it’s official.”
To mark the occasion, Tony’s put on an intriguing London pop-up – the Tony’s Only Red Room.
This stunt invited chocoholics into a red booth where they could put on red filtered sunglasses and listen to an ASMR voiceover which guided their experience of eating a bar of Tony’s.
The chocolatiers chose a red room as their pop up to lean into the emotions and ideas connected with the colour red.
Behavioural Psychologist, Jo Hemmings, said: “Red is a colour known for arousal and being evocative – it awakens the senses, heightens desire and creates a space where indulgence feels both intimate and empowering.
In this room, every taste of chocolate becomes more than flavour – it’s an experience of passion, pleasure, and presence.”
I went to this pop up myself and can safely say it was one of the most arresting experiences of eating a bar of chocolate I have had, I doubt I will ever see a Tony’s bar the same way again…
Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Colour Institute, said: “Tony’s Chocolonely is all about celebrating the magic of chocolate and breaking the mould while doing so.
“In keeping with that spirit, Tony’s Chocolonely Only Red is a confident, and captivating red that challenges the status quo, defies convention, and makes no compromises on taste or impact.”
Tony’s faced backlash for working with Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high quality chocolate and cocoa products, and an organisation that has come under fire for negligence and human rights infringements in their supply chain.
However, Tony’s argument for this is that they want to make all chocolate 100% slave free, not just their own, which involves getting involved with other chocolate manufacturers and tackling the problem from within.
Despite this alliance being controversial, Tony’s do stress that their supply chain is one hundred percent traceable, and their beans do not come into contact with any other brand in the process.
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