The CEO of Tony's Chocolonely has defended the company's controversial Christmas advent calendar stunt which left fans feeling enraged. The company, headquartered in Amsterdam, was criticised for leaving a day blank in the £14.99 calendar last week.
![[Tony's Chocolonely fans have been left disappointed after being greeted with an empty door in their calendars]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/14/93115125-14197633-Tony_s_Chocolonely_fans_have_been_left_disappointed_after_being_-a-11_1734359375147.jpg)
The stunt was meant to encourage awareness of 'inequality' in the chocolate industry, but left people 'children crying' and people fuming. Now, Douglas Lamont, the Dutch chocolate company's chief executive, has now spoken up about the political message.
![[Tony's offered a small explanation to say that the calendar was 'unequally divided' to reflect on the chocolate industry]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/14/93115139-14197633-Tony_s_offered_a_small_explanation_to_say_that_the_calendar_was_-a-12_1734359377569.jpg)
Speaking to the Financial Times from he said: 'We've got a strong point of view on something really important: ending exploitation in cocoa, millions of farmers living in poverty... child labour. That's a big societal issue.'. Last week, chocolate lovers were left disappointed when they went to open door number 10 only to find that there was no sweet treat inside.
![[Advent calendar owners were given two chocolates behind door number nine - and none behind the tenth]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/14/93115169-14197633-Advent_calendar_owners_were_given_two_chocolates_behind_door_num-a-13_1734359403673.jpg)
Instead there was a QR code which linked to their website with a message about cocoa farmers being treated poorly, reading: 'Not much to find in there, huh? Bummer!'. It sparked heated backlash on social media, as many were left wishing they'd opted for a cheaper Cadburys calendar instead.
Douglas Lamont, the Dutch chocolate company's chief executive, has now spoken up about the political message and said 'millions are living in poverty'. They wrote: 'That's why I've got a Cadbury one. I want daily chocolate, not preaching to';. 'Sorry I know it's activism but if I opened my calendar and the door was empty it would ruin my day'; 'Using a advent calendar as a political stunt is crazy work';.
