Chocolate from the heart of Europe
Belgium is the second largest exporter of chocolate, after Germany. In 2015, exports of the sweet temptation from the country amounted to $ 2.8 billion, which represents 11% of the product turnover in the world. There are no giants in the country like Mars Inc and Mondelez International in the US, Ferrero Group in Italy, Nestle SA in Switzerland or Meiji Co Ltd in Japan.
In Belgium there are over 3,000 mostly small and some big manufacturers of delicious temptation. In 2015, local sales totaled 385 tones at 1.14 billion euro, an increase of 55.8% between 2010 and 2015, according to data from the Belgian Statistical Office.
169 tones of chocolate were sold in the form of 893 million euro candies, which is 16.89% less than in 2010. The quantity of biscuits made is 68 tones worth 197 million, which is a drop of 2 , 6% compared to 2010. Sales of bulk chocolate increased by 38.34% compared to 2010 and cookies by 3.97%, but for chocolates decreased by 18.69%.
A chocolate tour in Brussels
In the capital or heart of Europe, as Europeans call Brussels, you can safely spend half a day visiting and tasting chocolate boutiques.
Belgium is associated with chocolate since 1635 when the country is under Spanish occupation, shortly after the dark delicacy was brought to Europe by Mesoamerica. By the middle of the 18th century, chocolate production had already developed into industrial proportions, and then Belgium together with Switzerland gained the reputation of producing high-quality chocolate. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the country has imported from its African Congo colony a significant portion of the raw material needed for its chocolate factories.
Belgians have traditionally been good at machine engineering and technology development. They first invented machines that chopped the chocolate beans at retail as needed to produce the famous chocolate candy with a soft core wrapped in fluffy chocolate powder. Their idea is to produce seafood shapes. These candies are the first with different flavors, such as hazelnut, nuggets, coffee or fruity aromas.
Just like any village in Italy has a local olive oil producer or wine producers in France, there is a local, small chocolate maker in every village in Belgium. Recipes are passed from generation to generation and are not relied on large machines, but on manual production.
Production Standards
The production of chocolate in Belgium was regulated by law for the first time in 1894 when the requirement for a minimum of 35% cocoa was introduced. In 2007, companies voluntarily agreed to adhere to a high standard in production, which is now applied by around 90% of businesses.
To overcome market demand, most manufacturers today expand their potential in different directions. New trends in production tend towards healthy eating and experiments with hot or exotic fruit notes. We use less and less sugar, more and more organic ingredients that attract the interest of consumers. For example, in March 2016, Nestlé first combined white and milky chocolate in its popular KitKat dessert in India, and Von Geusau Chocolates introduced milk and dark chocolate without sugar to the market.
Packaging innovations are sought to meet the need to extend shelf life in stores and attract customers’ attention. In April 2016, rlc Packaging proposed a package of special reflective pigments for some Nestlé products. Also interesting is the tendency in the production of packaging to use ecological products such as coconut bark.