Guylian facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Confectionery production |
| Founded | Sint-Niklaas, Belgium 1958 |
| Founder | Guy Foubert |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Chocolates |
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Number of employees
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200 |
| Parent | Lotte Confectionery |
Guylian is a famous Belgian chocolate brand. It is best known for its delicious seashell-shaped chocolates. These chocolates are filled with a creamy hazelnut praline.
The company started in 1958 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. It was founded by Guy Foubert. Today, a South Korean company called Lotte Confectionery owns Guylian. The name "Guylian" comes from the first names of Guy Foubert and his wife, Liliane.
Guylian specializes in roasted hazelnut pralines. But they also make many other tasty treats. These include chocolate-covered fruit pieces and chocolate truffles. Their main office and factory are still in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Guylian chocolates are now sold in about 120 countries around the world.
In 2003, the first Guylian Belgian Chocolate café opened in Antwerp, Belgium. Now, there are 9 of these cafes in different places worldwide. Guylian also cares about the environment. They work with Project Seahorse to help protect ocean animals. They also try to make their chocolate production more eco-friendly. For their efforts, they have won several awards.
Contents
The Story of Guylian Chocolates
Guy Foubert was born in 1938 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. His father was a baker. Guy started selling handmade truffles at local markets. He learned his skills at a special school in Antwerp.
In 1958, Guy Foubert got married. He perfected his chocolate recipe. Then, he started making his famous chocolate Sea Shells on a larger scale. In 1960, he officially created the brand name Guylian. The name combines Guy's name with his wife Liliane's name. It shows their "love and passion" for each other and for their chocolate business.
As the company grew, a new factory was built in Sint-Niklaas in 1988. This helped them make even more chocolates.
Guylian Cafes Expand
Guylian also decided to open cafes. In 2003, the first Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café opened in Antwerp, Belgium. Between 2008 and 2011, three more cafes opened in Sydney, Australia.
In June 2008, Lotte Confectionery bought Guylian. Lotte is a big South Korean company. They paid €105 million to enter the European fancy chocolate market. Lotte also wanted to make Guylian more popular in Asia. Soon, Guylian chocolate cafes opened in Dubai and Seoul, Korea.
This partnership helped Guylian become more known in Asia. In 2016, Guylian invested a lot of money to make their factory in Sint-Niklaas even bigger. They built a new production line in 2017 for their special "Master's Selection" chocolates. They have also invested in another new line for chocolate bars.
Awards and Recognition
Guylian has won many awards over the years. In 1998, the crown prince of Belgium gave Guylian Belgium's highest export award. Today, 60% of Guylian's sales come from outside Europe.
In 2012, experts from the International Taste and Quality Institute tasted Guylian's Sea Shells and Sea Horse pralines. They gave them a score of 90%. Guylian also received the Superior Taste Award. They are one of the few brands to get three gold stars for their products.
In 2015, Guylian won two awards from the Royal Belgian Committee for Distribution. One was for their charity work, and the other was for being innovative. Their new Crunch Biscuit filled Sea Horse also won an award for creativity that year.
In 2017, Guylian's new chocolate-covered fruits won a Superior Taste Award. The blueberries got three gold stars, and the raisins and cranberries received two stars. Guylian won another award in 2019 for its support of Project Seahorse.
Guylian also sponsors the "Seahorses of the World Photo Competition." This event helps promote seahorse protection. Divers can win awards for their underwater photos of seahorses. These photos are then used by Project Seahorse for scientific research.
Guinness World Record
Guylian even holds a Guinness World Record! In March 2005, they built the largest chocolate Easter egg sculpture. This huge egg was made to celebrate Easter and the renovation of Sint-Niklaas market square.
Twenty-six Guylian chocolatiers worked for eight days to build it. They used about 50,000 Seashell Bars worth of Guylian chocolate. This was a total of 1950 kilograms (about 4,300 pounds) of chocolate! The sculpture was 8.32 meters (about 27 feet) tall and 6.39 meters (about 21 feet) wide. It held the record until 2011.
Delicious Guylian Products
Guylian's most famous products are their praline chocolates. They come in the shape of seashells and seahorses.
In 2005, Guylian started selling twist-wrap boxed chocolates in the United Kingdom. These were for everyday enjoyment, not just for gifts. They came in flavors like Original Hazelnut Praline, Creamy Strawberry, Orange Cream, Smooth Truffle, Mild Cappuccino, and Crispy Caramel.
In 2013, Guylian introduced a vanilla-flavored Sea Horse. This was for customers who liked a milder taste than the traditional praline. They also added "Perline" chocolates to their collection. These have a milk chocolate truffle and hazelnut praline center.
To offer smaller snacks, Guylian released resealable pouches of chocolate-covered fruit pieces in 2016. These included Milk Chocolate Coated Raisins, Dark Chocolate Coated Blueberries, and Dark Chocolate Coated Cranberries. At this time, they also had flavors like white chocolate Matcha Green Tea, Latte Macchiato coffee, Crunchy Biscuit, and Soft Caramel.
In 2017, Guylian launched a special range of mini pralines for duty-free shops. These were for their "Master's Selection" luxury gift box. New flavors included Coffee Cardamom, Caramel with Pineapple, Orange and berries, Earl Grey Tea, and Ginger Lime. The box had 10 different miniature chocolates.
Guylian also offers "No Sugar Added Bars." These come in milk, dark, or dark with cranberries. They get their sweetness from Maltitol, a natural sugar alternative. Guylian's Golden Gift Boxes are filled with roasted hazelnut praline Sea Shells.
How Guylian Chocolates Are Made
The Guylian factory in Sint-Niklaas can make up to 75 tons of chocolates every day! They still use Guy Foubert's original recipe for the hazelnut praline filling.
They use sustainably sourced cocoa beans from West Africa. These beans make 100% pure cocoa butter, which gives Guylian's chocolate its creamy texture. Mediterranean hazelnuts are slowly roasted in copper kettles with sugar. Chocolatiers carefully watch the temperature as the hazelnuts caramelize. The roasted hazelnuts are then ground and mixed with the cocoa butter. This creates the delicious roast hazelnut praline. Finally, this praline is piped into the chocolate shells.
Guy Foubert's wife, Liliane, helped create the look of the chocolates. She designed the sculpted seashell and seahorse shapes. She also gave them their shiny, marble finish. A Guylian expert, Stephen Candries, says, "The white and dark chocolate unique intertwining like the lives of the two lovers, an immortal tale of romance that is retold in every marbled seashell today."
The Guylian Seahorse Icon
A seahorse is the special icon for the Guylian company. Even though the chocolate seahorse's tail curls the opposite way to real seahorses!
Every Guylian Sea Shell has a "G stamp" on it. This small "G" shows that the chocolate is made by Guylian. Steven Candries, a director at Guylian, explains, "You can distinguish a true Guylian Sea Shell chocolate by the G-stamp it bears. This is our quality signature and the mark of an artist."
Guylian Around the World
Even though Guylian is now owned by a South Korean company, its main office is still in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, where it all began. Guylian also has offices in other countries. These include the United States (in New Jersey), Germany (in Krefeld), the United Kingdom (in Oxford), and Portugal. In 2018, Guylian Asia was set up in Hong Kong.
Production Site
Guylian was founded in Sint-Niklaas, and they want to keep making their chocolates in Belgium. They keep investing in their Sint-Niklaas factory. This helps them meet the demand for their chocolates and make new products. In 2016, Lotte invested €6.8 million for a new factory location and production line in Sint-Niklaas. These updates were completed by mid-2017.
Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafés
Guylian started opening cafes outside Belgium in 2008. The first international one was in Sydney, Australia. It was very popular, so two more Guylian Belgian Chocolate cafes opened in Sydney by 2011. In 2015, the first Middle East café opened in Abu Dhabi.
In Australia, Guylian hoped to have a café in every state. They wanted to have 30 cafes across Australia. They believed this would make their brand more popular and boost sales in supermarkets. In 2018, the first Guylian Café opened in Dubai. Soon after, two more opened there.
Lotte Confectionery has a Guylian Café in their department store in Seoul, South Korea. There is also another café in the Lotte Duty Free Star Lounge. This VIP café in Myeong-dong has special menus created by a famous Belgian chef.
Helping the Planet and People
Project Seahorse
Since 1998, Guylian has been a big supporter of Project Seahorse. This group works to protect ocean life. Guylian has given over €1.75 million to help save marine animals.
Project Seahorse is an international organization. It works to protect marine ecosystems and find ways to help wild seahorses. Guylian helps raise awareness for Project Seahorse. They share messages on social media, their website, and on the back of their chocolate boxes.
They also run educational programs for schools and seahorse photo competitions. The "Guylian Seahorses of the World Photo Competition" happens every two years. It collects pictures and videos of wild seahorses from all over the world. These are added to a special database. Scientists use this information to learn more about seahorses and their homes. This helps them protect seahorses better. Guylian and Project Seahorse have helped limit seahorse exports and protect reefs in places like Hong Kong and the Philippines. They won an award for their efforts in 2019.
Project Cocoa for Sustainable Chocolate
Guylian also works with the Cocoa Horizons Foundation. This is a non-profit group that helps cocoa farmers. They aim to improve working conditions and make cocoa farming more sustainable. Together, they work on "Project Cocoa." This project helps communities and protects the environment by teaching better farming methods.
In 2018, Guylian removed palm oil from their products. They replaced it with sunflower oil and shea butter. This made their chocolates more sustainable, with less sugar and saturated fat. Guylian aims to get 100% of their cocoa from sustainable sources by 2025.
