Mars and Hershey may be two of the most well-known chocolate brands in the United States, but when it comes to chocolate lovers looking for something a little more refined, there's really only one name — Godiva.
The Belgium chocolate company has been the king of luxury chocolate for over 90 years and operates some stores in countries. While Godiva certainly makes candy bars , and even sells its chocolate in chain drug stores like Walgreens , the real star of this candy company are its pralines — or truffles or bonbons, if you prefer.
The story of Godiva is one that started in a family kitchen in Brussels , but over time grew to become a worldwide chocolate empire that is still finding new culinary territories to explore today. From its iconic gold box and naked lady logo to its chocolate-making process and ingredient controversies, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the sweet world of Godiva chocolate. Buy any box of Godiva chocolates and you'll see the brand's iconic logo on the packaging — a naked lady riding a horse.
So what's a woman in the buff on a horse have to do with chocolate? Well, as you might have guessed, the logo is a tribute to the namesake of the chocolate brand, Lady Godiva. About years before Godiva chocolate was born, a not-so-swell guy, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, had a reputation for imposing high taxes on the peasants of present-day Coventry, England. Lady Godiva was married to Leofric and repeatedly asked him to lighten up on the greed, but he refused and said he'd lower taxes the day she rode a horse naked through town.
So that's exactly what the rebellious Lady Godiva did Inspired by the boldness and courage of Lady Godiva's story, Draps saw fit to adopt her name and legendary image for his chocolate company's own name and logo. These days, Godiva creates everything from solid chocolate bars to icy treats that are sucked through a straw. But as for the chocolate that started the Godiva empire, it's the praline. While Godiva didn't invent the praline, which refers to a filled chocolate bonbon, the company has certainly become the most well-known purveyor of the candy.
It was in that Pierre Draps Sr. The Draps family kitchen served as the creative hub for the chocolates with the entire family working together to make, package, and sell the chocolates around Brussels. A year later, Pierre Jr. Everyone knows that Valentine's Day is one of the biggest sales days in the chocolate business, and Godiva moves some serious chocolate every February It's been reported that 53 percent of women expect some sort of Valentine's Day offering from their partner, and chocolate has long been a go-to gift on the holiday.
Oller estimates that 30 to 50 percent of people also buy a treat for themselves. After all, who among us can resist chocolate, right? As for those shoppers waiting until the last minute to buy chocolate?
Way to go, dudes. Becoming the head honcho of a worldwide chocolate brand is one of those dream jobs that brings with it a certain amount of mystery. After all, how exactly does one get the job of Godiva's head chocolatier chef? As you might have guessed, there's more to it than just a background in eating a lot of bonbons. Though the head chef does eat around 20 pieces a day. Executive chef chocolatier Thierry Muret actually started out in chemistry before moving into the world of chocolate, and it's that background that has helped make him a master in the field.
The chef studied molecular-level crystal formation at the University of Belgium and only took an apprenticeship in the early s with a chocolate chef to help out his sister who had aspirations of starting her own chocolate company. Once Muret realized that there was a heavy dose of science involved in the tempering process, there was no looking back. As for creating Godiva's flavors, Muret told Vice that the chemistry comes into play when he finding a way to connect flavors that work well together.
Before you even pop a well-crafted piece of chocolate in your mouth, your sense of smell is already cuing your brain on what's ahead.
It's exactly this importance of smell in relation to taste that is at the root of Godiva's creative process. Because our tongues can only taste five basic tastes sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami , Muret and other chocolate chefs place a great deal of emphasis on the aromatic side of their chocolate creations. This complexity of aromatic compounds that can be found in chocolate is incredibly vast. According to Scientific American , roasted cacao beans yield over flavor compounds that can smell like anything from cooked cabbage to raw beef fat.
Today, Godiva has over owned Boutiques. It also has a presence in over countries, which is boosted by its successful global travel retail outposts.
When Lady Godiva, wife of Lord Leofric, protested against the taxation of his subjects a deal was struck: Lady Godiva would ride through the streets of Coventry, "clad in naught but her long tresses", and if the population remained in shuttered building, their tax burden would be lifted. The following morning she made her famous ride, the citizens graciously stayed inside and Leofric kept his word and reduced the taxes.
Lady Godiva won the hearts of many and her legend has continued to deepen throughout the centuries. Nowhere is her passion, purity, sensuality, style and boldness more symbolised than in a tantalising box of Godiva chocolates which in turn are sure to win the hearts of all those who taste them. Read more. His shop in Brussels' Grande Place was a success, and over the next decade several other outlets were opened around Belgium.
Joseph Draps was both a talented chocolate-maker and a skilled businessman, and under his guidance the firm built the Godiva brand into a leader in the super-premium chocolate category through the use of sophisticated advertising and elegant packaging, as well as by limiting distribution to select locations.
Godiva's signature offering was a creamy "ganache," or hazelnut praline filling, that was inserted into a molded shell of high quality chocolate. Over the years, Draps built up a repertoire of distinctive products, many of which had been introduced to commemorate specific events. His best-known creation was the Comtesse, which celebrated Lady Godiva herself and was made from dark or milk chocolate with a chocolate cream center.
Another was the Autant, a hand-decorated chocolate leaf made from coffee and chocolate creams covered in milk chocolate, which had been made to commemorate the premiere of the film Gone With the Wind.
Godiva would later be named the official purveyor of chocolate to the Belgian Royal Court. In , the first Godiva shop outside Belgium opened in Paris, and in the company's offerings reached America with distribution to select chains of luxury department stores. At the same time, the Draps family sold a two-thirds stake in the firm to Pepperidge Farm, a unit of Campbell Soup Company.
Later, Campbell would acquire the remainder. As in its European boutiques, Godiva's products were displayed like jewels in refrigerated brass and glass cases. In , the company named a new president, Albert J. Godiva's profile was raised by advertising in tony publications such Gourmet magazine and Architectural Digest, along with such moves as partnering with designer Bill Blass, who created a signature line of chocolates for the firm. Marketing materials were improved as well, and department stores were encouraged to set up separate Godiva counters.
During this period, the firm's chain of stores was also expanded, with shops opened in such countries as Japan for the first time. The customer at a Godiva boutique, as the firm termed its outlets, was treated like a buyer at a fine jewelry store. Once a selection of chocolate pieces had been made from the display case and weighed, the candy was placed in a golden box, tied with imported golden string, and then put into a golden bag for transport.
Other extravagant offerings included model kits of Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Mercedes automobiles, which could be "glued" together by melting an included extra piece of chocolate. The company's products were frequently purchased for gifts, and 70 percent of Godiva's sales were made during the holiday season, which stretched from November to Valentine's Day. The company had by now set up a second headquarters in New York and an American production facility in Reading, Pennsylvania, though European customers were still supplied by a plant in Belgium.
Some debated the relative merits of Godiva chocolates from Belgium versus those made in the United States, but the company dismissed such concerns, noting that it used the same supplier for its raw chocolate but created unique recipes for different markets, factoring in regional preferences for sweetness and flavorings.
Additionally, laws in some states limiting alcohol content required that American recipes omit certain liqueur-based flavoring agents that were preferred in Europe. In the summer of , Albert Pechenik resigned as president to form a chocolate company of his own, Gourmet Resources International, and his position was taken by Thomas H. A disgruntled Pechenik later charged that his former employer was trying to undermine his new operation, but Godiva countered that it was simply being competitive.
The company continued to grow during the mids by such actions as boosting its retail presence in the UK and adding a chocolate gift registry. The company had also begun issuing catalogs for mail-order sales, though this made up only a small portion of its business.
0コメント