Valrhona, Villars, and Weiss are set to roll out a new premium chocolate concept for travel retail, called Gourmets & Co, at TFWA Asia Pacific (Basement 2 #J34).
The companies have set their sights on Asia as they look to expand their presence in the region’s domestic and travel retail markets.
Gourmets & Co combines the three brands, which each place a strong focus on sustainability and traceability.
It will present new gift boxes specifically designed for travel retail at the TFWA Asia Pacific show. Introducing a new gifting concept, The Art of Gifting, it offers chocolate assortments wrapped in packaging that comes with personalised cards and ribbons.
This will also be complemented by atelier-style gifting activations featuring a dedicated station offering guests to create their own personalised gifts and souvenirs.
Among the gift boxes on offer, the Valrhona Instants Dégustation features an assortment of dark and milk chocolate squares. Dark chocolate varieties include Tulakalum (75% cacao), Bahibé (46% cacao), Manjari (64% cacao) and Guanaja (70% cacao), and milk chocolate Jivara (40% cacao).
For over 100 years, the brand has been producing these chocolates which are characterised by their unique aromatic profiles from the enhanced flavour of rare cocoa beans, grown on carefully selected terroir.
Highlighting its Swiss heritage, Villars’ chocolate assortment is made using all local ingredients and is presented in a classic tin that pays tribute to the dome of the Federal Palace.
Weiss capsule collections come in packages that include seasonal, personalised greeting cards with illustrations made from collaborations with artists.
Established in 1882, the brand describes itself as a French artisanal bean-to-bar chocolatier. With a committment to traceability and transparency, all of its couverture chocolate is clean-label, with cocoa sourced from ten different origins around the world.
Gourmets & Co Head of Retail Category Development Delphine Schmitt said: “Backed by over a century of expertise and savoir-faire, the Gourmets & Co maisons offer our partners the opportunity to give chocolate connoisseurs an unparalleled and exquisite tasting journey and a unique and sustainable gifting experience.”
The company has also appointed Regional Manager Dea Dhrami to develop both the domestic as well as travel retail business in Asia Pacific. Dhrami commented: “The last year has been transformational for our travel retail business in Asia Pacific. Prioritising this region has been important, not only given its status in the global travel retail market, but also because it includes some of our leading export markets where our brands have huge potential.
“We have stepped up our focus in travel retail, in particular enabling travellers to discover more about our brands and to reshape the industry with the vision of a sustainable future in mind. The premium chocolate market is predicted to grow in the Asia Pacific region and we will expand our business by nurturing existing partnerships and developing new markets. We look forward to meeting customers and introducing our portfolio to potential new partners at TFWA Asia Pacific this year.” ✈
