Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has built a reputation on a business model based on going viral with kindness, giving, and risky business. The YouTube star has a following in excess of 200 million and has made a platform out of doing good. What is his next cause? Transforming the chocolate business, a fair-trade chocolate bar at a time.
In 2022, MrBeast launched a chocolate brand called Feastables with a mission to turn the chocolate business on its head—namely, the fact that chocolate plantations are filled with child labor. The reason was simple: how chocolate could be made ethically and still be profitable.
The chocolate industry has been plagued with immoral working conditions, with a concentration in West Africa, where nearly 60% of the world’s chocolate is made. The U.S. Department of Labor says nearly 1.5 million children work in hazardous conditions on Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana plantations. The majority are forced to suffer excessive working hours, dangerous tools, and low wages—or no wages.
MrBeast has addressed these issues, exposing the fact that around 46% of the workforce in the area is made up of kids. The astonishing figure has fueled his drive in finding a solution not involving exploitation of kids.
Feastables was founded on a vision to transform the chocolate supply chain. In a departure from other traditional chocolate manufacturers, Feastables receives its cocoa beans through Tony’s Open Chain, a high-end program aimed at ending child labor and paying growers a fair wage.
This practice ensures farmers a decent income, reducing economic pressure that often leads to child labor. Despite Feastables’ efforts at doing business ethically, the brand was brought under criticism in mid-2024 when YouTube personality Ahnestly accused MrBeast of indirectly endorsing child labor through his supply chain. The allegations stoked debates on the net on whether Feastables’ efforts were transparent as declared.
To this, MrBeast maintained his company’s stand on ethically sourced ingredients, stating rigorous monitoring mechanisms in place not to take advantage of children. MrBeast opened Feastables‘ process to transparency, welcoming audits through a third party in a bid to ensure adherence to ethical policies.
“I started Feastables because I felt we could make wonderful chocolate without endangering kids,” he said. “If there is a flaw in our supply system, we’ll get on top of it. We are transparent.”
Feastables’ rise has pushed other chocolate companies to rethink their source. While many companies claim they engage in fair trade, few have been as proactive in monitoring compliance with high ethical standards as MrBeast’s company.
Some industry leaders already began following suit with such fair trade policies, and ethically sourced chocolate debates made a highlight in the mainstream media. The query is: are corporate titans going to join MrBeast in following suit and commit themselves to sustainability?
