Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur facts for kids
 |
|
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Chocolate production |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Josef Zotter |
| Headquarters |
Riegersburg, Styria
,
|
| Products | Chocolate |
| Revenue | € 24 Million (2019) |
|
Number of employees
|
200 (2019) |
Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur manufactures chocolates, and was founded in 1999 by Josef Zotter. Its headquarters is in Bergl near Riegersburg, a municipality in the Südoststeiermark in the Austrian state of Styria. Annually, around 300 tonnes of cocoa beans and 150 tonnes of cocoa butter are turned into 600 tonnes of chocolate, served in the form of more than 400 varieties of chocolate, pralines, drinking chocolate and other types of chocolate.
Zotter is a bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer, carrying out the entire chocolate production process on site: from roasting cocoa beans on rollers to grinding in the conche.
History
In 1987 Josef Zotter and his wife Ulrike opened the Zotter Konditorei confectionery in Graz, southern Austria. Zotter's created confectioneries like the “Hemp Bar” and the “Funny Cake”. He expanded, opening three more branches.
Zotter began to produce chocolate in a back room of their confectionery in 1992. He created hand-scooped chocolate with layered centers and a new 70-gram bar without the customary cubic break-off shape. Amongst others the first range of flavors included pumpkin, marzipan and dried fruit.
Two years later art designer Andreas H. Gratze designed artful wrappings and named the chocolate bars.
In 1996, Zotter went into administration and closed three branches.
In 1998, a new product range of drinking chocolates was introduced in the shape of hand-scooped chocolate bars.
After that Zotter decided to only produce chocolate and opened the Zotter Chocolate Manufactory in 1999. Demand for Zotter's chocolate increased and the factory was expanded.
The manufactory was converted into a bean-to-bar production house by Josef Zotter in 2007. He also launched the Chocolate Theatre where visitors can experience chocolate production from beginning to end. The first chocolate bar created at his bean-to-bar factory was a pure chocolate bar called Labooko.
In 2011, the Edible Zoo, a farm which is an open air section of the Chocolate Theatre, was opened.
In 2015, Zotter ranked among the world's best 25 chocolate producers from 70 countries. In 2016 two gold, eight silver and five bronze medals were awarded to Zotter chocolates.
Philosophy
The chocolate factory produces 365 different chocolates with individual tastes. Its production is in-house and it does bean-to-bar chocolate production.
There are many varieties like cheese chocolate, fish chocolate and wine chocolate. The chocolate wrappings were created by Andreas H. Gratze. All Zotter products claim to be "organic and fair-trade", in the belief that quality begins with the ingredients, so they claim to "work together with small farmers and invite them to the factory".
Brands and products
- Hand-scooped: chocolate bars filled with different ingredients
- Labooko: origin chocolates from different places in the world
- Mitzi Blue: a round chocolate with breaking patterns
- Customized Choco: individual chocolate with different shapes and flavors
- Nougsus Nougat: nougat bar, such as peanut or cashew nougat
- Whole Nuts: chocolate with whole nuts, fruits and raisins mixed in
- Nashis-Mini: a chocolate variety of mini chocolates
- Nashido: thin mini chocolate bars with a creamy filling in ten different flavors
- Drinking Chocolate: different variations of drinking chocolates which can be melted in hot milk
- Balleros: dried fruit and roasted nut pieces rolled in chocolate
- Biofekt-Pralinies: filled and hand-decorated pralines
- BASiC Couverture and Light Bulbs: for baking, mixing creams or mousses
- Sim Bim Cakes: cakes in a glass
- Coffee Mi(s)Chung: coffee beans from Mexican, Colombian and Indian cocoa farmers which are roasted in-house at the factory
- Pop Art Corn: popcorn coated with chocolate
- CREMA Nougat: nougat cream in a glass
- Globally: small chocolate balls
- Flic Flocs: chocolate flakes in eight varieties
- Nutting Hills: nougat bar with whole nuts inside
- ChocoShots: Zotter fillings in a syringe
- Lollytop: chocolate lolly pops, which are available in different colors
- Stack of Leaves: very thin chocolate bars
- Nibs+CocoaBeans: cocoa beans for snacking
dei beidl falt
