Remarkable news: Tony’s Chocolonely is asking for a sugar tax itself. Huh?
Remarkable news: while food producers usually try to advertise their products with a message along the lines of ‘buy this often and in large quantities and you’ll be happy’, Tony’s Chocolonely is currently opting for a different kind of statement. Aren’t they shooting themselves in the foot?
So what has the company, whose goal is to make the entire chocolate industry free of slavery and child labor, decided to embrace? The sugar tax that may be introduced under the new government. Precisely the tax that applies to their product, which is why we’re curious about the reasons behind it.
Self-awareness
The company’s CEO, Henk Jan Beltman, writes that Tony’s Chocolonely is itself part of the sugar problem. Their website features an extensive explanation of this ‘change of direction’, as well as why they are making such a statement right now (“I’ll have a sugar tax, please… and make it quick” it says next to an image of one of their own bars), even though they have long known that they make a product full of sugar.
The company goes on to say that, because of the pandemic, health has once again become a top priority for them, and that they cannot ignore the fact that sugar is THE ingredient that makes their work possible—but that eating too much of it is simply bad for your health.
Shouting it from the rooftops
The company says it will proactively adjust its labels and run a campaign to make its fans aware of healthier choices, hopefully influencing the bigger picture of an overburdened healthcare system as well.
Helpful aid
To make it all a bit more visual, Tony’s Chocolonely created an image showing the precise number of grams of sugar contained in each piece of their signature bar. So you know what you’re consuming and can put it into the context of the WHO’s (World Health Organisation) recommendation to limit your sugar intake to a maximum of 50 grams per day.
Would you like to read Tony’s Chocolonely’s full article on this subject? You can do so here.
Also read:
- Tony’s Chocolonely launches a chocolate chip cookie bar
- 10 things that also contain sugar—you didn’t know that
- Don’t be fooled by your chocolate packaging
