20 Oct 2022
Almost 1 out of 2 consumers globally buys chocolate online at least once a year, our Taste Tomorrow consumer research shows. An additional 29% are interested in buying chocolate from the comfort of their home in the future.
So what do smart chocolatiers do? They build a strong online presence for themselves. We’ve collected 7 inspiring examples of chocolatiers who’ve created a unique social media persona on Instagram and TikTok.
Consumers don’t just like to shop online. 54% of people spend 2,5 hours daily on online media. During their daily scroll on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms, they’d also like to get inspiration on the product offer of local shops. Half of the consumers in our survey said they would like their neighborhood chocolate shop to showcase their bonbons, chocolate bars and seasonal creations online. In the Asia-Pacific, Middle-East Asia and South America, more than 6 in 10 consumers would like to find inspiration via online media about the products on offer at their local shops.
So whether you have an online shop or just sell through your brick-and-mortar chocolate store, being online is the way to go. Follow these 7 chocolatiers to see how it’s done:
1. Patrick Roger
Clean, minimalistic and full of relatively empty glass displays, the stores of Patrick Roger have more resemblance with art galleries or high-end jewelers than a chocolate shop. They perfectly match his artistic approach to his craft. He is both a chocolatier and a sculptor, which results in creations such as cancan-chickens, whose tail-slash-skirt resembles roses. His flavor combinations are equally original. Have you ever tried a marzipan, vodka and potato bonbon?
Check it out on Instagram.
2. Stephane Leroux
If you didn’t know any better, you might think the images on Stephane Leroux’s social media channels are featuring glasswork or ceramics. The MOF (le Meilleur Ouvrier de France) and Belcolade Chocolate Expert has a distinct style, featuring muted colors and lots of organic and geometric shapes with interesting patterns. His chocolate creations are fit for a museum, were it not for the fact that they are perishable.
Check it out on Instagram.
Belcolade recently launched the innovative So'Choc chocolate in collaboration with Stephane Leroux. His unique inspiration, creativity and expertise shaped the new chocolate’s individual taste. So’Choc pairs fermented cocoa with fermented buckwheat and has an unmatched sensorial experience. Discover more.
3. David H. Chow
‘Fun’ is the first word that comes to mind when you take a peak on David H. Chow’s social media channels. A mini smash cactus filled with small chocolates, a chocolate piece of toast or his signature chocolate egg with a ‘fried egg’ on top. On his Instagram channel, he mostly shares photography of his creations, neatly arranged or cut in half to show the fillings inside.
Check it out on Instagram.
4. Chocolatician
A chocolate bunny with the face of Benedict Cumberbatch? Why not. Oozy raspberry Bellini champagne truffle boobs with hazelnut praline and rosemary nipples? Of course. But Jen Lindsey-Clark, aka Chocolatician, just as easily creates a highly realistic chocolate bust of Queen Elizabeth. Her original creations show her fine-tuned sense of what content will catch on online.
5. Håkan Martensson
Håkan Martensson proves that chocolate can be rugged and a little dark as well. The chef and chocolatier from Sweden makes chocolate sculptures with a gloomy edge: his social media channel features monsters, skulls, dragons and other fantasy creatures. His bonbons have tastes that match his rough image, think of scotch-infused ganache, cherry blossom with whiskey and ruby or lingonberry caramel with vodka ganache.
Check it out on Instagram.
6. Amaury Guichon
Amaury Guichon can’t be missed from this list of course. The host of the Netflix show School of Chocolate has an incredible 9.8 million followers on Instagram and a whopping 16 million on TikTok. As we all know from his Netflix show, Amaury excels at super realistic sculptures that make you guess: is this really chocolate? His followers can’t get enough of the painstaking and delicate work it takes to put these sculptures together.
7. Dominique Persoone
Over the years, Dominique Persoone has become famous in his native Belgium for his utter love for chocolate and his rebellious approach, earning him 58K followers on Instagram. Alongside his family, Dominique is driving the vision of the famous Belgian chocolate shops 'The Chocolate Line' (20.2K followers on Instagram), the winner of 'Best Chocolatier of year 2023' award by Gault Millau, based in Bruges and Antwerp.
Check it out on Instagram.
Taste Tomorrow
Taste Tomorrow is the world’s largest ecosystem for consumer understanding in bakery, patisserie and chocolate. By tracking local and global consumer behaviors, attitudes and choices it provides us with valuable, in-depth insights. We are able to use these insights to track the evolution of trends and reveal new ones, helping your business to stay connected to your customers and discover new opportunities.
