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Valrhona’s new travel retail exclusive collection, which will be formally unveiled to the trade in Cannes |
FRANCE. Luxury French chocolate house Valrhona is set to target travel retail more specifically, with the September introduction of a new premium outlet/travel retail exclusive trio. The products, which were previewed to The Moodie Report during an exclusive two-day visit to the company’s Tain L’Hermitage headquarters earlier this month, will be officially revealed to the trade at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes.
The move coincides with a new chapter in the company’s development, as it seeks to expand and strengthen its international presence beyond its French heartland. “In the past four to five years, we have completed the huge job of changing our packaging, updating our visual identity, and creating many new products,” Retail Sales Manager Europe Eric Carlier tells The Moodie Report. “Importantly, we have really decided to invest in the travel retail business. Last year alone we opened around 20 new airports”¦and we want to further build on this development and expansion.”
The first premium/travel retail exclusive is an extension to Valrhona’s Grands Cru collection. Called “Discovering a World of Taste” (Voyage Sensoriel autour des Grands Crus) the premium gift set invites consumers to travel the world by tasting four, single-origin, dark Grands Cru chocolates, each of which is made from cocoa beans grown in different locations. These are: Caraïbe (the Caribbean), Manjari (Madagascar), Alpaco (Ecuador) and Taïnori (the Dominican Republic).
The set contains four 70g bars – one of each type of chocolate – presented in the form of a slim, fold-out book, and accompanied by an explanatory leaflet. The price point is around €20.
“This product is exclusive to the premium channel, which for us means travel retail, Valrhona Boutiques and certain high-end department stores,” explains Carlier. “But travel retail in particular is a key target.”
“We think this is a real innovation,” notes Travel Retail Marketing Manager Lucie Montagnon. “We have decided not to develop destination merchandise as such, but instead have created a product that allows consumers to travel around the cocoa world. The four single-origin bars showcase different chocolate, made from cocoa beans grown in different parts of the world. Each has a very distinctive aromatic profile. We explain all the differences, and suggest to consumers how best to taste them.”
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Retail Marketing Manager Constance Buffet adds: “What is interesting is the fact that even though all four bars contain almost exactly the same percentage of cocoa, they taste so different. Caraïbe and Alpaco are 66% cocoa; Taïnori and Manjari 64%. The booklet included in the set explains and educates that taste is not solely about cocoa percentage, as many people think. The origin of the cocoa bean is equally important.”
The other two new exclusives feature a selection of fine chocolates. The first set contains 16 Dark Chocolate Grands Crus Ganaches (155g), combined with complementary “Finest Origin” ingredients such as Earl Grey Ceylon tea and Ethiopian Arabica coffee. The second is a 150g collection of 16 Assorted (milk and plain) Chocolate Ganaches. Both incorporate a longer, eight-month shelf life to accommodate the demands of the travel retail channel.
“The idea behind these products was to offer small, portable but premium gift boxes of fine chocolates,” notes Montagnon. “And they are totally exclusive to the travel retail channel. Both are alcohol-free and contain natural colouring agents, which facilitates export all over the world.” Each will retail at around €22.
To complement the introduction of these new products, Valrhona has created a new advertising/promotional campaign which will be used in the travel retail channel. There are three separate visuals, created around the themes of “Discover”, “Taste” and “Enjoy”.
“In particular, we are keen to encourage impulse buying,” notes Carlier. “Except at certain times such as Easter or Christmas, most chocolate purchases are not planned in advance, so we have to capture people’s attention and encourage them to buy.”
Sales of dark chocolate – a significant segment of the Valrhona portfolio – have been growing steadily for several years. “There are many reasons for this,” says Carlier, “not least the fact that it contains less sugar and, in moderation, has been shown by many studies to be beneficial to health.”
“Also, more and more people are keen to educate themselves about chocolate,” adds Buffet. “Consumers are becoming much more discerning. They recognise and enjoy quality, hence the big trend in high percentage cocoa products.”
Happily, Valrhona’s appeal is broad, and seemingly unconstrained by age or gender. “We have tried to define a consumer profile, but it’s difficult,” admits Carlier. “Generally speaking, our products are loved by gourmets, by connoisseurs who enjoy the gastronomic finer things in life, such as whisky, Cognac, caviar, salmon, and so on. The age range of such consumers is broad, anything from 25 to 65 and beyond.”
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Professionals and gifted amateurs are invited to enhance their skills at Valrhona’s Ecole du Grand Chocolat |
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From cocoa bean to finished product: Varhona is involved in every stage of the chocolate-making process
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Last year, to celebrate decades of close ties with some of the greatest names in the gastronomy world, Valrhona created a special advertising campaign featuring the names of superstar chefs Bocuse, Ducasse, Hevin, Michalak, Pic and Robuchon, (all clients of the brand) carved into slabs of its chocolate.
Valrhona’s professional expertise is also inextricably linked to its Ecoles du Grand Chocolat. The first was opened in 1989, by Frédéric Bau, in Tain L’Hermitage. Two further Ecoles have since been opened: one in Paris and one in Tokyo.
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Valrhona’s portfolio, as showcased in partnership with Aelia at Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport |
The Ecoles, attended by professionals from all over the world, are described as top-flight centres for training and research. But the facilities also open their doors to gifted, gourmet amateurs, who seek to share the savoir-faire of the world’s leading experts.
Moreover, Valrhona is a committed supported of certain professional events, such as The World Pastry Cup. One of the competition’s founders – and an official partner since its creation in 1989 – Valrhona’s products are a feature at this unique event which aims to discover the rising stars who will craft the pâtisserie of tomorrow.
The importance of giving back
The company has also demonstrated a keen sense of Corporate Social Responsibility through the Valrhona Taste Foundation, created in 2006 “as a response to the growing uniformity of taste and culinary standards”.
The Foundation aims to create and support initiatives that seek to preserve, promote and share all taste-related knowledge. Through the theme of “preserving diversity, protecting individuality and maintaining exceptional taste”, the Foundation focuses on scientific research, training, protection of the environment and programmes that benefit society in general.
Famous chefs such as Danielle Monteaux and Laurent Aron work in partnership with the Foundation, thereby using their skills, contacts and knowledge to drive a range of projects around the world.
For example, the Foundation is working alongside the Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse (PJJ) in Valence, France, to run cooking competitions and workshops, and to donate chocolate for the scheme’s “Parcours du Goût” taste trails.
Since July 2010, the Foundation has been working with the St. Etienne correctional facility, organising theoretical and practical chocolate-themed workshops for prisoners. And it has also launched “Les Classes du Goût” – taste classes in partnership with the Institut de Recherche Scientifique Paul Bocuse and the SAPERE association, to provide taste training through workshops in primary school classes. This project falls within the framework of the French education system’s priority “nutrition” area.
Further afield, The Valrhona Taste Foundation is actively supporting the Cambios Project, in Venezuela. The goal of the project is primarily to preserve biodiversity by actively supporting a more socially and economically sustainable method of cocoa farming.
The Cambios strategy began with Valrhona’s Pedregal plantation, a safe refuge for the Porcelana variety of cocoa tree. Under the direction of scientists at the Merida Botanical Gardens, Pedregal will become a pilot plantation for sustainable cocoa farming.
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Where the magic is (literally) made: Valrhona’s two production sites in Tain L’Hermitage |
At the same time, the Cambios project plans to crate an annexe to the Merida Botanical Gardens, where the typical flora of the forests of the Andean piedmont in Venezuela will be protected and displayed.
Eventually, the Cambios project will incorporate other botanical gardens projects and educational initiatives for both schools and professionals involved in the cocoa sector.
From plantation to production
To guarantee the flavour of its chocolate, Valrhona controls every stage of the production process, from bean to bar. In particular, to guarantee the consistent quality of its cocoa beans, the company has committed to long-term partnerships with local producers, who work closely with Valrhona’s experts during every stage of the cultivation process.
Valrhona chocolate comes from around 15 locations in 12 different countries, from Venezuela to Madagascar. Mutual respect and trust, sustainability and the development of local economies are the basis for Valrhona’s partnerships with planters. Valrhona offers long-terms contracts to guarantee volumes and purchase prices, quality bonuses to encourage plantation sustainability, technical assistance and joint research programmes.
