Ben & Jerry’s Sheds Light On Modern Slavery In Cocoa Business With New Flavor
Ben & Jerry’s is drawing focus to the not-so-sweet world of cocoa farming through an all-new ice cream flavor.
Teaming up with 100% slave-free confectioner Tony Chocolonely, the ice cream maker has rolled out the ‘Chocolatey Love A-fair’ flavor as a way to take a stance against the seedy underbelly of child labor in the chocolate industry.
Tony Chocolonely itself has led a long-running, industry-wide initiative called Tony’s Open Chain. The program seeks to address poverty in the chocolate-farming industry by paying farmers more and by transitioning to fully traceable cocoa beans. This is on top of a Fair Trade premium the company is paying for its chocolate.
We’re in a Chocolatey Love A-Fair w/ @TonysChocoUS! We're uniting to end modern slavery in the chocolate industry by sourcing traceable cocoa via Tony’s Open Chain. Chocolatey Love A-Fair + 2 Tony’s bars coming in 2023! #chocolateyloveafair Learn more: https://t.co/zvnw37Bk1a pic.twitter.com/SS7hzhCoCR
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) August 18, 2022
Just last year, brands like Nestlé, Mars, Hershey, Olam, Cargill, Barry Callebaut, and MondelÄ“z were hit with a lawsuit from the International Rights Advocates for procuring cocoa beans from farms that employ children and that do not pay wages to their workers.
According to Reuters, the case was eventually dismissed by a federal judge.
This new joint venture allows Ben & Jerry’s to adopt the same model as Tony Chocolonely. It will be sourcing chocolate from eight locations in Côte d’Ivoire, and it will allow the brand to keep track of each farm and how the production of cocoa affects the social and environmental issues of the area.
Chocolatey Love A-Fair is an ice cream based on Tony Chocolonely’s sea salt chocolate bar. The chocolate company will also be introducing two new candy bars to its lineup, inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavors.
[via The Dieline and Fast Company, cover image via PR Newswire]
