For Valentine's Day

Sweet “bouquet of flowers” from the Styrian chocolate king

Chocolatier Josef Zotter(Bild: Sepp Pail)

For Styrian chocolate maker Josef Zotter, Valentine's Day is an important sales driver between Christmas and Easter. And: How the broad bean becomes chocolate!

They are called "For you and me", "Pieces of happiness", there is even a sweet "Bouquet of flowers", and the heart-shaped chocolates are a hit in the famous East Styrian chocolate factory anyway. "With Roll-eggs, you can also give your loved ones something that reminds them of an expensive watch," smiles chocolatier Sepp Zotter about his latest coup, which is selling like hot cakes.

And it has another purpose: "To show once again what value food should have. In a society that likes to spend money on everything, but often enough saves on the important foods of all things."

Has already been honored with a "Top of Styria" Dachstein trophy for his life's work: the "chocolate visionary" Josef Zotter.(Bild: CONCLUSIO.AT)

However, Zotter is not cutting back on chocolate purchases at the moment. "Valentine's Day is a welcome highlight for us between Christmas and Easter, and of course it doesn't just last one day due to online sales, but extends over several weeks beforehand."

Fair conditions for producers
Unlike the price explosion affecting other producers this year, his chocolate will not become more expensive in the near future. Zotter: "We had to raise prices by nine percent in September in order to be able to continue to offer fair conditions for our cocoa producers."

The fact that this has been the case for years now protects the Styrian from massive increases. The result: "The most expensive thing about chocolate is the cocoa. Young people in cocoa-producing countries are increasingly flocking to the cities, which means there is a shortage of workers on the plantations. Many then fall into disrepair, which leads to crop losses." Wages are also rising: "Thank goodness - and working conditions are improving."

Zotter has just been to a trade fair where amazing things were presented. Namely: "That clean beans and roasted, fermented lentils are the future of production."