You might have seen these big chocolate bars we like to share. And if you’re lucky, you might have even tasted one! As much as we love eating (and sharing) delicious chocolate, there’s a bigger, more important story behind every ounce of our favorite treat.
“I wasn’t paid, and I was forced to work.”
Young children tell stories about being forced to work on cacao plantations, not allowed to leave or talk to their parents. Many were worried they could be punished or even killed. In 2006, Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken (you can call him Tony) introduced the world to the harsh reality of just how cacao beans were harvested in West Africa. You can click here to see the story.
Not one to turn a blind eye, he started his own chocolate company – Tony’s Chocolonely – with the goal of producing 100% slave-free chocolate.
At the same time, our co-founders Jeroen Morrenhof and Christian van Leeuwen were working as consultants for large insurance companies. They noticed how illegitimate claims were affecting innocent consumers and began questioning why fraud was so widely tolerated. After hearing too many times, “it’s just a cost of doing business,” they decided to do something about it.
Honest chocolate and honest insurance
While Tony set on a crusade to make chocolate that was 100% slave-free, Jeroen and Christian began building up the company we now know as FRISS. It’s believed that honest families pay $400 to $700 per year in excess premium – just to support the fraudsters in their schemes to make an extra buck. So, when FRISS helps make insurance more honest, we all benefit.
Two Dutch companies take over the world
In his first year, Tony sold 13,000 bars of chocolate. Today Tony’s Chocolonely sells over 36 million bars each year, and you can find them around the world – including at supermarkets across the United States. And while the world enjoys more and more honest chocolate each day, FRISS continues to make insurance more honest, teaming up with over 150 carriers across the globe. We’ve screened over 63 million insurance claims so far, and that’s just from when we started counting.
So, the next time you find yourself at an insurance conference with a heavy bar of brightly-wrapped chocolate, take a nice bite knowing you’re helping make the world more honest!
