Tony’s Chocolonely reveals Irish regions with the biggest...

New research from Tony’s Chocolonely has revealed the counties with the biggest sweet tooth in Ireland ahead of Easter.

While Easter has different meanings for everyone, we can all agree chocolate is an essential part of the holiday celebrations. With that in mind, Tony’s Chocolonely, the chocolate maker on a mission to make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate, has done some digging, and combed through Google searches for chocolate in each county, to reveal the counties which are home to Ireland’s biggest chocolate lovers!

Dublin tops the list with 48% of the search volume across Ireland! Cork comes in second at 10% searches in the last year. Meanwhile, Galway placed third at 4%, Kildare landed the fourth spot at 3.5% and Meath came in fifth with 3% of searches. Limerick, Louth, Wicklow, Tipperary and Kerry also make up the top ten of chocolate lovers!

Here’s the Top 10:

Each year, chocolate consumption spikes across Ireland for Easter weekend but do we really know whether the chocolate we eat is ethically produced?

According to the new piece of research from Tony’s Chocolonely, conducted in partnership with Bounce Insights, only 29% of Irish people have heard about Modern Slavery on cocoa plantations and only 33% of respondents had heard about Child Labour and other forms of exploitation occurring on cocoa farms.

Meanwhile, a whopping 91% believe that all food companies should be tackling illegal labour in their supply chains, 92% agreed that farmers around the world should be paid a living wage and 77% of respondents also agreed that it was important that the food they buy is from traceable and transparent supply chains. Most importantly, 78% of those surveyed said that they would like the brands they buy to help them be more ethical in their daily life.

Commenting on the findings Nicola Matthews, UKI Head of Marketing at Tony’s Chocolonely has said:

“At Tony's Chocolonely our mission is to make all chocolate 100% slave free and empower chocolate lovers to opt for ethically produced chocolate. Our consumer research in Ireland shows that Irish shoppers want to know where their food comes from, and whether it is ethically produced and responsibly sourced, but the findings highlighted a clear gap in knowledge about some of the bitter truths of chocolate production.

Indeed, there are still over 1.5 million cases of child labour present in the chocolate industry in Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire today. With chocolate lovers gearing up to celebrate with friends and family this Easter, we wanted to remind everyone to opt for sustainable and ethical chocolate without compromising on flavour or fun.”

All Tony’s Chocolonely products are made with Fairtrade cocoa, are palm oil and plastic free and most come in fully recyclable packaging, from the paper pouch to the aluminium foil wrapping the eggs, ensuring you can make a conscious choice all year round.

Not to mention, Tony's Chocolonely has four limited-edition Easter products which are perfect for gifting and are available now in Tesco, Dunnes Stores, SuperValu, Fresh and Centra, online here and from independent retailers Brown Thomas, Earth Mother and Independent Irish Health Foods and The Counter Donegal, while stocks last!