Les Chocolats de Pauline, the travel retail exclusive brand from French chocolatier Saveurs & Nature, is set on extending its footprint in travel retail, following the appointment of long-time Valrhona executive Eric Carlier as Travel Retail Director last year, writes Colleen Morgan
In an interview with Martin Moodie to be published in coming days, Carlier and Saveurs & Nature Founder Jean Michel Mortreau talk passionately about the principles that underpin the company and their ambitions for the exclusive range.
The brand was launched five years ago as a dedicated product for Air France Business Class passengers and has since enjoyed listings in France through Lagardère Travel Retail.
Les Chocolats de Pauline is, however, set to expand its horizons and Asia is its key targeted market.
Carlier joined the company after over 19 years with French premium chocolate specialist Valrhona where he was Travel & Retail Director.
Saveurs & Nature was founded by Jean Michel Mortreau in 2005. Until then, along with his wife Valerie, Mortreau had successfully owned and operated Resto’Bio, one of the first organic restaurants recognised in France. He made chocolates as treats for their customers but they proved so popular that the couple gave up the restaurant to focus just on chocolates, with an emphasis on organic products, natural ingredients and sustainability. Saveurs & Nature chocolates are made from certified cocoa beans and do not include soy lecithin, palm oil, gluten and preservatives. Cardboard packaging is sourced from sustainably managed forests.
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“The aim,” Mortreau said, “is to offer all chocolate lovers a sweet escape, an amazing taste experience. Creating good chocolates 100% organically grown was our very first objective.”
The Les Chocolats de Pauline brand is named after Mortreau’s daughter. The chocolates, he says, are “exactly like her: modern, smart, natural, concerned about environment and health, looking for simple pleasures and great tastes”.Carlier has already embarked on a Les Chocolats de Pauline brand and packaging refresh to emphasise its strongpoints: that it’s 100% organic and that its DNA is based on sustainability and a strong CSR policy. New-look products will be ready to roll out to travel retail in March.
Carlier underlined Mortreau’s role in the brand’s development, his determination to “promote sustainability in every piece of chocolate, with the utmost respect for the people and resources of our planet”.
“He is a hands-on owner, passionate about his work and his products and that shows.
“We are confident that now is the right time for Les Chocolats de Pauline to extend its network and we are focusing on Asia, and in particular China.
“Even if Europe is currently the biggest market for organic chocolate before the USA, Chinese customers, who are increasingly concerned about their health, will represent our main market in the coming years,” Carlier said.
He added that Les Chocolats de Pauline is already favoured by Chinese travellers who are looking for a “combination of innovative and high-end products from France, great chocolate taste experiences, and the authentic story of a company focused on health and protecting the planet”.
Carlier said participants of the recent TFWA China Reborn digital event expressed interest in the brand, which he intends to physically introduce to Asian retailers at the TFWA Hainan Special Event, scheduled to take place in May.
The Les Chocolats de Pauline range includes tablets, gift boxes, destination packs and spreads. A 75g Origins bar has a RRP of less than €5; a 16pc gift box is €15 and gift pack of three chocolate bars is €15.
The products are 100% organic, made from natural ingredients, certified organic cocoa beans and guaranteed pure cocoa butter. They are soy lecithin, palm oil and gluten free, without any preservatives, dyes or artificial flavours.
Cocoa is mainly sourced from the Dominican Republic, Peru, Madagascar, Tanzania and Haiti. According to Carlier, organic cocoa represents only 0.5% of the cocoa world market. Organic chocolate accounts for 1% of the overall production, but is “very dynamic with a stronger increase than conventional chocolate, year after year”.
“We have selected organic origins of premium quality to get different flavours from one continent to the other and from one island to the other,” Carlier added.
“Like terroirs for wine or coffee, the nature of the soils and the countries of the cocoa beans, will reveal different flavours.”
As Mortreau explains in the interview with Martin Moodie (coming soon), Saveurs & Nature has since its foundation committed to sustainability. The house enjoys close ties with its cocoa producers in the Dominican Republic and Cameroon where it has financed schools and teachers’ salaries in the fight against child labour.
“This is not just marketing ploy; it’s part of the company’s DNA,” Carlier said. “Saveurs & Nature is really committed to what is happening through the entire cocoa and chocolate journey, from the plantations to production, packaging and presentation. The company and its brands are already part of the ‘new normal’ which cares for the future and the planet’s natural resources.
“Les Chocolats de Pauline is a young brand with low brand awareness and we are out to change that,” Carlier said, with digital and social media set to play a substantial role in future marketing.
“We have the makings of a travel retail must. The brand is organic, innovative, it offers quality, great tastes, standout packaging and a strong story. For sure we can compete with the main players,” Carlier concluded.
[Look out for our landmark interview with Jean Michel Mortreau and Eric Carlier soon]
