Tony’s Chocolonely has teamed up with Ben & Jerry’s to launch a co-branded range of ice creams and chocolates.
The two companies, both of which are known for their ethics and approach to social justice, have created a quartet of products billed as being inspired by each other.
Ben & Jerry’s has unveiled an ice cream called Chocolatey Love-A-Fair, which is based on Tony’s milk caramel sea salt flavour, with a dairy and non-dairy variant rolling out (rsp: £4.50-£4.90).
Tony’s Chocolonely, meanwhile, has created two bars – Dark Milk Chocolate Brownie and White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake – both of which are based respectively on Ben & Jerry’s flavours (rsp: £3.50).
Cocoa beans used in all of the products were sourced through Tony’s Open Chain initiative, with Ben & Jerry’s set to convert its wider portfolio to Tony’s Open Chain beans over the months to come. The Unilever brand will also adopt the chocolatier’s sourcing principles, such as using traceable beans and paying higher prices to help farmers.
Ben & Jerry’s already pays farmers a Fairtrade premium for their beans through a partnership with Fairtrade, as well as a Living Income Reference Price.
Ben & Jerry’s global head of values-led sourcing Cheryl Pinto said the brand “began this journey seven years ago, when we first partnered with Fairtrade co-ops in Côte d’Ivoire”. This was “the exciting next step in our cocoa journey as we amplify our commitment to farmers, equity, and ethical sourcing”.
“Not only will this partnership see large volumes of cocoa beans sourced via Tony’s Open Chain but collaborating with one of the world’s most-loved social justice companies truly puts our initiative on the map internationally and proves that our way of working is a solution for all players in the cocoa industry,” added Tony’s Open Chain lead Joke Aerts.
The ice creams will hit retail from October, with the chocolate bars due to hit shelves from early 2023.
It’s not the first high-profile fmcg collaboration for the chocolate brand. Last year, for instance, Tony’s linked with BrewDog to launch a collaborative white chocolate IPA called Tony’s Hopolonely (4.2% abv).
Earlier this week, Tony’s also debuted two new flavours – Milk Pecan Crunch Caramel and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie – which are exclusive to independent retailers and non-grocery stores (rsp: £3.99).
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