SIAL 2018

SIAL 2018

Millésime Chocolat is selected among the innovative products at SIAL 2018, the International Agri-Food Fair in Paris.    

An interview with AWEX, the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency in Belgium, with the participation of Jean-Christophe Hubert, director of Millésime Chocolat  

Why are you here ?  

I came to propose, explain and develop Millésime Chocolat. We celebrated our first anniversary a few days ago. It is our first international show and the first contracts are emerging, so it's something very important for us.  

Would you be at SIAL without the AWEX?  

No, because I think that considering the subsidies, it is very important for a company like us to benefit from the rates and the support offered by the AWEX, especially since we are still in the development phase from a technical point of view. There were a lot of costs that accumulated at the beginning of our launch and we are really growing fast. We have a fairly strong demand and therefore this help to participate in many fairs such as the AWEX offers is very interesting for us.  

Already something concrete at the show?  

Yes, for sure. We have already seen our Japanese distributor, for example, who made the trip to meet us. We were able to discuss future collaborations more deeply.   Furthermore, we are still looking for concrete distributors, whether in Eastern Europe, England, Nordic countries or in Spain for example. Some distributors had already manifested themselves from the first days of the show.  

Who is your target?  

We offer a high quality chocolate. From an European point of view, we are the only ones to make vintage chocolate so we are targeting a luxury clientele. We have been contacted by distributors who are active in the luxury sector in some affluent urban areas, like Marrakech for example  […].  

Which evolution do you consider?  

We are already evolving, we were only 3 a year ago. Today, we are 7 and our machines have already reached their maximum production rate. Therefore we are already organizing our move. The staff will be increased and everything that is concerning machinery and tools will be developed. Even before SIAL, we were in this very important development phase. […]  

Do you think about your future in Wallonia?  

Yes, we will remain in Wallonia and we will mainly stay in the center of Liège.