As part of the Buying Better Together strategy, SPAR actively collaborates with Challenger Brands – brands outperforming their competitors and growing market share thanks to innovative NPD and savvy marketing.

With consumers continuously looking for more novel brands, SPAR International supports these challengers in gaining access to new countries and regions, thereby providing our partners with the opportunity to increase their instore offering. By giving these highly innovative brands a platform and introducing them to SPAR markets as well as our logistical network, SPAR International is helping them to grow their business outside of their home market.

Here we highlight two such companies: Tony’s Chocolonely and Farm Brothers. Contact our commercial team for more information on stocking these great brands in your market: product@spar-international.com.

Tony’s Chocolonely
Set up by a team of Dutch journalists in 2005, Tony’s Chocolonely are the chocolate makers on a mission to end slavery in the chocolate industry. Tony’s Chocolonely is currently the no. 1 chocolate brand in The Netherlands and launched in the UK in January 2019.

“Our vision is 100% slave-free chocolate. Not just our Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate, but all chocolate worldwide. With incredibly tasty chocolate, we lead by example to show the world chocolate can be made differently: in taste, packaging and the way we do business with cocoa farmers. We are happy that we collaborate closely with SPAR to make this impact together, both on shelf as well as in the industry”, said Ivan van Kooten, Export & Duty Free Travel Retail Manager at Tony’s Chocolonely.

Currently, an estimated 30,000 instances of modern slavery occur on cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast, where 60% of the world’s cocoa originates. Moreover, there are reportedly around 2.1 million children working illegally in the cocoa industry. As part of their ‘recipe for slave-free cocoa’, Tony’s notes it pays farmers a living income and uses their bean tracker technology to ensure a fully traceable supply chain.

Farm Brothers
Farm Brothers is a 100% organic cookie brand on a mission to change the earth. With every pack of Farm Brothers organic cookies sold, the company ensures a 12cm2 section of depleted agricultural land in Flevoland (the Netherlands) is made organic. In this way, the soil turns healthy again, holding more water and nutrients, and ultimately even helping to reduce climate change, according to Farm Brothers.

The company describes itself as “fresh, but not a newbie” since it has successfully sold cookies in 15+ countries around the world. The company has won multiple awards for taste in the last years: Great Taste Awards (UK 2017), ‘Best Bio cookie in France’ (2019, 2020), ‘Best new organic Food Product of the Netherlands 2019’).

“Farm Brothers are now in more than 6,000 stores – and by teaming up with SPAR we are looking forward to creating even more impact”, said Tjebbe van Meeteren, Sales Manager at Farm Brothers. “We are not only changing the earth by baking our cookies, we are also changing the cookie category.”

By ensuring its products are organic, palm oil free, without “artificial stuff” and by including vegan options as well as exciting flavour combinations, Farm Brothers is attracting consumers of all backgrounds and preferences to the cookie shelves. The company’s current cookie offering includes Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt, Ginger & Lemon, Hazelnut & Cinnamon, as well as vegan options Brownie Almond and Maple Pecan.