Editor’s Note: In the past five years, chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely has grown its North America sales from single-digit millions of dollars to more than $70 million per year. And a large part of its recent success comes from adding paid media to the marketing mix as a supplement to shopper marketing, live events and organic marketing. Chief Marketer Network publication AdExchanger reviews how adding paid media to the mix upped the game for the brand. Below is a brief excerpt; head to AdExchanger to read the full piece.
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For any newcomer grocery brand, taking the step from having a strong regional presence to gaining a national retail footprint is always a complicated move.
Chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely hit that inflection point in the US roughly five years ago, which was when Aidaly Sosa Walker joined as VP of marketing for the US and Canada.
Before that, the brand’s presence in the US was limited to the Pacific Northwest from its base near Portland. Tony’s main roots are in Europe, however. The company was founded 20 years ago in the Netherlands.
Over the past five years, its chocolate sales in North America have grown from single-digit millions of dollars to more than $70 million per year, according to Walker.
Yet it’s only been over the past couple of years that Tony’s has ventured into paid media, she said. It previously relied on shopper marketing, live events and organic marketing, including what she referred to as “alarming” color assortments that stand out among mostly dark bars in the chocolate section.
Tony’s also draws on its mission-based origin story in its marketing. Its founder, Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken, was inspired to launch an ethical chocolate brand after reporting a story about poor conditions in the cocoa farming industry. The company’s cocoa supply chain is transparent and defies common issues of child labor and inequity.
Chocolate bars are often impulse buys, but Tony’s can make the case that buying one of its bars is also an intentional and thoughtful purchase.
Even the name itself – “Chocolonely” – is a reference to what felt like a lonely crusade to expose the state of cocoa farmer working conditions.
Head to AdExchanger for the full story.
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