The color purple

Two chocolate giants in the “war of the bars”

Tony's Chocolonely incurred the wrath of Milka manufacturer Mondelez with its purple packaging.(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Tony‘s Chocolonely, Krone KREATIV)

The color purple is a bone of contention: because a Dutch chocolate manufacturer put its bars on the shelves in similar packaging, the top dog with the purple cow filed a lawsuit. 

Sparks are currently flying between Tony's Chocolonely and Milka manufacturer Mondelez. This is because the manufacturer from the Netherlands had put a whole milk bar in purple packaging on the shelves as part of its "Fair alternatives" campaign.

"Your chocolate, but fair"
Tony's Chocolonely said that the bars were "deliberately parodic": "Your chocolate, but fair" was also projected onto Viennese house walls. According to the company, the aim was to draw attention to the continuing problem of child labor and low wages on cocoa plantations. 

Tony's Chocolonely reacted with humor to the Milka manufacturer's injunction.(Bild: Tony’s Chocolonely )

Milka manufacturer Mondelez found this anything but good and issued a court injunction against Tony's. However, not because of the campaign's statements on the subject of child labor, but "because of trademark infringement through the use of the color purple". The Dutch company has now announced that it will take legal action against the injunction.

Child labor, rainforest clearing
In addition to the chocolate brand with the purple cow, the Mondelez Group also owns Oreo, Toberlone, Philadelphia and the Mirabell Mozartkugel, which is sold in many places in Austria. The company has been criticized for decades for tolerating child labour and paying cocoa farmers the lowest possible prices.

Environmentalists have also repeatedly criticized the massive clearing of the rainforest to grow cocoa. Mondelez responded with a sustainability program in the production countries. However, according to several NGOs, including Greenpeace, the measures do not go far enough.

Advertising with sustainability
Tony's Chocolonely repeatedly advertised that it paid cocoa farmers higher prices for their raw materials and was committed to combating child labor. In fact, the Dutch manufacturer also scored above average in rankings by NGOs such as the WWF. The manufacturer only came in for criticism in 2021 because it shared a production chain with the Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut, which was also repeatedly accused of child labor and rainforest deforestation.