Guylian facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Confectionery production |
| Founded | Sint-Niklaas, Belgium 1958 |
| Founder | Guy Foubert |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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Mieke Callebaut (CEO) |
| Products | Chocolates |
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Number of employees
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250 |
| Parent | Lotte Confectionery |
Guylian is a famous Belgian chocolate company. It is best known for its delicious chocolates shaped like seashells. These chocolates are called pralines and often have a creamy filling.
The company started in 1958 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. A man named Guy Foubert founded it. Today, a South Korean company called Lotte Confectionery owns Guylian.
Guy Foubert and his wife, Liliane, created the first chocolate recipes. The name "Guylian" comes from combining their first names: Guy and Liliane. While they are famous for hazelnut pralines, they also make many other treats. These include chocolate-covered fruits and yummy chocolate truffles.
Guylian's main office and factory are still in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. But their chocolates are now sold all over the world in about 120 countries! In 2003, the first Guylian Belgian Chocolate café opened in Antwerp, Belgium. Now, there are 9 of these cafes in different places around the globe.
Guylian also cares about the environment. They work with Project Seahorse to help protect ocean animals. They also try to get their cocoa beans in a way that helps the planet. For their good work, they have won special awards.
Contents
The Guylian Story
Guy Foubert was born in 1938 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. His father was a baker. When Guy was still in school, he started selling handmade truffles. He learned how to make them at the Antwerp School of Confectionery.
In 1958, Guy got married. He made his chocolate seashell recipe even better. Then, he started making his chocolates in larger amounts. In 1960, he officially named his brand Guylian. The name Guylian combines Guy's name and his wife Liliane's name. It shows their "love and passion" for each other and for making chocolates.
In 1988, Guylian built a new factory in Sint-Niklaas. This helped them make more chocolates as the company grew.
Cafes Around the World
Guylian opened its first chocolate café in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2003. This was a new step for the company. Between 2008 and 2011, they opened three more cafes in Sydney, Australia.
In 2008, Lotte Confectionery bought Guylian. Lotte is a big South Korean chocolate maker. They paid €105 million for Guylian. Lotte wanted to sell more high-quality chocolates in Europe. They also hoped to make Guylian more popular in Asia. Soon, Guylian opened chocolate cafes in Dubai and Seoul, Korea.
The partnership did help Guylian become more known in Asia. Guylian has also invested a lot in its factory. In 2016, they made big improvements to their production plant in Sint-Niklaas. They added new production lines for special chocolates and chocolate bars.
Guylian's Awards
Guylian has won many awards over the years.
- In 1998, the prince of Belgium gave Guylian Belgium's highest award for exports. Today, 60% of Guylian's sales are from outside Europe.
- In 2012, experts tasted Guylian's Sea Shells and Sea Horse pralines. They gave them a score of 90% for their taste, look, smell, and texture. Guylian also won 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 for being a good company and for being creative.
- In 2017, Guylian's new chocolate-covered fruits also won a Superior Taste Award.
- In 2019, Guylian won another award for helping Project Seahorse.
Guylian also sponsors a photo contest every two years. It's called the "Seahorses of the World Photo Competition." This contest helps people learn about seahorse protection. Divers can win awards for their underwater pictures of seahorses. These photos are then used for scientific research.
Guinness World Record
Guylian holds a Guinness World Record! In March 2005, they made the largest chocolate Easter egg sculpture. It was built to celebrate Easter and the new market square in Sint-Niklaas.
Twenty-six Guylian chocolatiers worked for eight days to build the egg. They used about 50,000 Sea Shell Bars of Guylian chocolate. The giant egg weighed about 1950 kilograms (4,300 pounds). It was 8.32 meters (27.3 feet) tall and 6.39 meters (21 feet) wide. Guylian held this record until 2011.
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 chocolates in twist-wrap boxes in the United Kingdom. This was for people who wanted to enjoy chocolates every day, not just as gifts. These came in many flavors, like Original Hazelnut Praline, Creamy Strawberry, and Smooth Truffle.
Guylian keeps creating new flavors. In 2013, they released a vanilla-flavored Sea Horse. They also added a chocolate called Perline to their collection. It has a milk chocolate truffle and hazelnut praline center.
In 2016, Guylian released resealable bags of chocolate-covered fruit pieces. These were great for smaller snacks. Flavors included Milk Chocolate Coated Raisins and Dark Chocolate Coated Blueberries. They also added new flavors to their main collection, like Matcha Green Tea and Latte Macchiato coffee.
In 2017, Guylian launched a special collection of mini pralines for luxury gift boxes. These had classic flavors and new ones like Coffee Cardamom and Ginger Lime.
Guylian also makes "No Sugar Added Bars" in milk or dark chocolate. These bars use a natural sugar alternative called Maltitol. Their popular Golden Gift Boxes are filled with roasted hazelnut praline Sea Shells.
How Guylian Chocolates are Made
The Guylian factory in Sint-Niklaas makes up to 75 tons of chocolates every day! They still use Guy Foubert's original recipe for the hazelnut praline filling.
They use cocoa beans from West Africa to make 100% pure cocoa butter. This gives Guylian's chocolate its smooth, creamy texture. Mediterranean hazelnuts are slowly roasted in special copper kettles with sugar. Chocolatiers carefully watch the temperature as the hazelnuts turn into caramel.
Then, the roasted hazelnuts are ground up and mixed with the cocoa butter. This creates the delicious hazelnut praline. Finally, this praline is piped into the chocolate shells.
Guy Foubert's wife, Liliane, also helped create the chocolates. She designed the beautiful seashell and seahorse shapes. She also gave them their shiny, marble look. A Guylian expert, Stephen Candries, says the white and dark chocolate mixing is like "the lives of the two lovers." It's a sweet story told in every marbled seashell.
Guylian's Company Icon
A seahorse is the special icon for Guylian. You might notice that the chocolate seahorse's tail curls the opposite way compared to real seahorses!
Every Guylian Sea Shell chocolate has a "G stamp" on it. This small "G" shows that the chocolate is truly made by Guylian. Steven Candries, a director at Guylian, explains that the G-stamp is their "quality signature and the mark of an artist."
Where Guylian Works
Offices Around the World
Even though a South Korean company owns Guylian, its main office is still in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Guylian also has offices in other countries. There's an office in New Jersey in the United States, one in Krefeld, Germany, and another in Oxford, United Kingdom. They also have an office in Portugal. In 2018, Guylian Asia was set up in Hong Kong.
Production Site
Guylian started in Sint-Niklaas, and they want to keep making their chocolates in Belgium. They keep investing money in their Sint-Niklaas factory. This helps them make enough chocolates and create new products. In 2016, Lotte helped pay €6.8 million for a new factory and production line in Sint-Niklaas.
Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafés
Guylian started opening cafes in other countries in 2008. The first international one was in Sydney, Australia. Because it was so popular, two more Guylian cafes opened in Sydney by 2011. In 2015, the first cafe in the Middle East opened in Abu Dhabi.
Guylian hoped to have cafes in every state in Australia. They believed this would make their brand more popular and help sell more chocolates in supermarkets. In 2018, the first Guylian Café opened in Dubai. Soon after, two more opened there.
Lotte Confectionery also has a Guylian Café in their department store in Seoul, South Korea. There's another special cafe in the Lotte Duty Free Star Lounge. This VIP cafe in Myeong-dong has unique menus created by a famous Belgian chef.
Helping the World: Charity Partnerships
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 group that protects marine ecosystems and wild seahorses. Guylian helps spread the word about Project Seahorse. They share messages on social media and on their website. They even print a message about conservation on the back of every chocolate box.
They also do fun activities to raise awareness. These include school programs and seahorse photo contests. The "Guylian Seahorses of the World Photo Competition" happens every two years. People send in pictures and videos of wild seahorses. These are added to a special database called iSeahorse. Scientists use these photos for research and education. This helps them understand seahorses and their homes better.
With Guylian's help, Project Seahorse has worked to protect seahorses and their homes in places like Hong Kong and the Philippines. They even won an award for their efforts in 2019.
Cocoa Horizons Foundations (Project Cocoa)
Guylian also works with the Barry Callebaut Cocoa Horizons foundation. This is a group that helps cocoa farmers. They want to make sure cocoa farming is done in a way that is good for people and the planet. Together, they work on "Project Cocoa." This project helps communities and protects the environment by teaching better farming methods.
In 2018, Guylian stopped using palm oil in their products. They replaced it with sunflower oil and shea butter. This made their chocolates more sustainable. It also meant they had less sugar and unhealthy fats. Guylian wants to be the top Belgian chocolate brand that does not use palm oil. They also plan to get all their cocoa from sustainable sources by 2025.
