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    Case Study

    Tony’s Chocolonely: The pursuit of growth with purpose

    By Benoit F. Leleux and Jan Van der Kaaij
    17 pages
    November 2018
    Order this case study
    Reference: IMD-7-1982

    The case, and its accompanying pedagogical material, offers a unique perspective on CSR-based transformational entrepreneurship, looking at a startup company with a strong ethical purpose and objective, in this case the transformation of the cocoa supply chain towards a child-labor free, fair-trade, organic agriculture-based sourcing. The case follows the history of Tony’s Chocolonely, a Dutch producer of premium chocolate bars with a strong responsible footprint. It follows the footsteps of its founder, Teun van de Keuken (a.k.a. Tony) from journalist to social activist and ultimately entrepreneur with a strong sense of purpose and defined impact objectives. The 12-year journey led Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars to claim the number three spot in the Netherlands’s chocolate markets, with the products also sold in many other countries around the globe.

    Learning Objective
    • Scaling up
    • Growth with purpose
    • Social and environmental responsibility
    • CSR
    • Child labor
    • Materialities
    • Mixed motives firms
    • Ethics
    • Transformational entrepreneurship
    • Social ventures
    • Impact investment
    • Leading change
    • Standard setting
    • ESG criteria
    • Work-life balance
    Keywords
    Marketing, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility, Impact, Growth Management, Ethics, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Integrity, Labor Practices, Brand Building, Differentiation, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Innovative Business Model, Supply Chain Management, Industrial Transformation, Chocolate, Environmental Social and Governance
    Settings
    Europe, Netherlands
    Tony’s Chocolonely, Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage
    2005-2018
    Type
    Field Research
    Copyright
    © 2018
    Available Languages
    English
    Related material
    Teaching note
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