A small company can change a large industry. That is one of the main conclusions drawn by organisational scientists Janina Klein, Christine Moser and Elco van Burg from their research into Tony’s Chocolonely. They reconstructed how, between 2003 and 2026, the company prompted other players in the chocolate industry to take action.
Tony’s Chocolonely began more than twenty years ago with a clear mission: to eliminate child labour and exploitation from the cocoa supply chain. It has since grown into an international multimillion-euro company selling chocolate in several countries. But according to the researchers, Tony’s impact extends beyond the growth of the company itself. “Other chocolate brands, supermarkets and parties in the cocoa supply chain have also started to change the way they work,” says researcher Janina Klein. “How can a small, idealistic company such as Tony’s have such a major impact and get an entire sector moving? That is what we mapped out in this study.”
Bringing about change at other companies
The researchers analysed nearly 2,000 internal and external documents covering the period from 2003 to March 2026, reviewed hundreds of hours of video material and interviewed a wide range of people involved. They looked not only at Tony’s own growth, but above all at what changed at other companies. This is where they saw the wider impact: competitors, supermarkets and other parties in the cocoa supply chain began adapting their own practices.
The study shows several examples of Tony’s influence on other companies. Verkade switched to Fairtrade cocoa, while Albert Heijn joined Tony’s Open Chain, which allows companies to adopt Tony’s approach to responsible cocoa sourcing. Tony’s collaboration with Barry Callebaut, one of the world’s largest cocoa processors, also made it possible to process traceable cocoa on a larger scale.
Deliberately avoiding becoming a ‘niche brand’
One of the most striking findings is that Tony’s deliberately avoided becoming solely an idealistic niche brand. By selling its chocolate in mainstream supermarkets alongside major brands, Tony’s became a direct competitor. According to the researchers, this put pressure on other producers and retailers to take sustainability and traceability more seriously. Klein: “It may seem counterintuitive. You might think that if you want to make fully ethical chocolate, you should stay as far away as possible from the mainstream industry. Tony’s did the opposite: it deliberately engaged with the major industry players in order to bring about change.”
Collaboration and confrontation
Tony’s did not rely on collaboration alone, but also deliberately chose confrontation. The company worked with organisations such as Fairtrade and major cocoa processors, while publicly challenging other companies when, in Tony’s view, they copied parts of its concept without adopting the sustainability principles behind it.
According to the researchers, this combination was crucial. Collaboration helped make new solutions and practices possible, while public confrontations increased the moral pressure on other companies to take action as well. At the same time, Tony’s presence in supermarkets created additional competitive pressure: by sitting literally alongside the major chocolate brands on supermarket shelves, it became difficult for them to ignore Tony’s.
The chocolate industry has not yet been transformed
At the same time, the researchers stress that Tony’s mission is far from complete. Major multinationals are still not fully transparent about their supply chains, and Tony’s itself cannot guarantee that its chocolate is entirely free from exploitation. “The problem of child labour has therefore not been solved. What Tony’s does show, however, is how a relatively small company can get major players moving and help drive change across an entire industry.”
According to the researchers, the findings may also be useful beyond the chocolate sector, for example for social enterprises working in areas such as sustainability, poverty reduction, healthcare and inclusion. Klein: “The major challenge is not only how to start a social enterprise, but above all how to scale up social change. This study shows that both collaboration and confrontation play an important role.”
The paper ‘Scaling Social Impact at Tony’s Chocolonely: How Interactional Dynamics Shape Social Innovation Processes and Drive Institutional Change’ was published in the Journal of Management Studies.