Italians who love chocolate: they consume about 4 kg each year, which means 11 grams a day. The one that sells the most is undoubtedly dark chocolate, which remains the most loved - for purists, you know, real chocolate is only black - and the best-selling.
But in the panorama of a product that never goes out of fashion, there is something for all tastes: the "food of the gods" over the years has taken on the most varied forms, reaching everyone's palate thanks to its classic, gluten-free, organic and vegan.
According to the latest data from Euromonitor International released during the Salon du Chocolat in Milan, in Western countries the consumption of chocolate between 2010 and 2015 decreased by 2% in North America, while overall spending increased by 2% in Europe and 4% in the United States.
The result that emerges, therefore, is that we try to eat more and more quality chocolate. And this is also true in less traditional markets. In the East, for example: in China consumption has more than doubled in the last ten years, while remaining in the shadow of Western consumption: 100 grams per year for the Chinese, 8 kilos for the British.
According to data processed by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi, Coldiretti Lombardia and Promos Italia Made in Italy agri-food exports are driven by chocolate together with tea, coffee and spices and ready meals with a total of 6,7 billion and an increase of 8,6%.
The elaboration is the result of Istat data relating to 2016-2017 and describe Italian exports for a total value in the agri-food sector equal to a value of 40 billion with an increase of 5,5% on the previous year. Germany with 17,1% of our exports, France with 11,2% and the United States with 10% are the main Italian partners in the food sector, while the emerging markets are represented by Russia, with an increase of 23,8%. 14,8%, from China with +13,3% and from Spain with +XNUMX%.
Returning to Italy, it is in various geographical areas that the production of chocolate has become a prevalent activity and for which important public events are remembered: Eurochocolate in Perugia, CiocclaTò in Turin and Cioccoshow in Bologna. Then there are stories "of the heart", like this one by Cecilia Tassieri and the Amedei company, which represents one of the few companies on the Italian scene to boast complete control of the supply chain, from the cocoa bean that is harvested, fermented, dried and shipped to Tuscany up to the finished product.
Cecilia Tessieri Maitre Chocolatier e the war with the French
It is a story that dates back to 1990 when Cecilia Tessieri, with the support of the entire family, but above all guided by her maternal grandmother from whom the name of the factory derives, decided to devote herself to the art of chocolate.
Pralines are the main production of the small 45 square meter laboratory inside an old cast iron foundry in Tuscany where Tassieri begins his production. But it's only the beginning: soon think well of starting an exploratory phase that will lead it to become the first woman in the world to hold the role of maître chocolatier, after a period of apprenticeship between Belgium, France and Germany and to research the most remote countries in search of a unique cocoa, capable of having preserved the aromatic character of the territory to which it belonged.
In particular, the company had a privileged relationship with the cocoa hacienda of Chuao in Venezuela. The import of chocolate from Chuao was the scene of a commercial war with the French of Valrhona who had in the past refused to collaborate with the Tuscan company and until the arrival of the latter they bought all the local production. Amedei resolved the dispute in 2002 by purchasing the chocolate at a six times higher price (9 dollars per kilo instead of 1.3 or according to other sources three times higher) and offering to sponsor the plantation baseball team.
As for the production tools, scattered here and there in the old continent, ancient machinery has been recovered, some of which dates back to the end of the 800th century and others to the first post-war period, which are perfectly combined in production with more modern and innovative ones. It was 1998 when the first Amedei bars hit the market.
The chocolates that the Amedei company produces are Kosher certified, a tool that explains the natural manufacturing process. Furthermore, Amedei uses only pure cocoa butter, without soy lectin, without gluten, without artificial colors and flavours.
I“In recent years, an ever greater interest in cocoa and chocolate has grown on the part of the scientific community and public opinion, from the point of view of health and well-being. A lot of scientific evidence leads us to define chocolate not only as a food with a unique taste, but as a real functional food capable of carrying out a complex therapeutic action. According to the most recent studies, chocolate, through the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the flavonoids and other components, performs an improving action on the elasticity of blood vessels.
In 2014, the European Food Safety Authority confirmed the authorization to cite this positive effect as an advertising claim. Furthermore, chocolate reduces the oxidation of cholesterol and contributes to lowering blood pressure, as well as delaying skin aging processes. It also acts as a prebiotic, promoting the development of beneficial bacterial species such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria”, explained Marco Domenici, biologist and nutritionist.
But the story of Amedei it hasn't always been easy and it hasn't always been Italian. Indeed, in 2015, Amedei saw 75% of its shares sold to the Chinese fund Octopus Europe Limited. In 2017 the repatriation: the Ferrarelle mineral water company – at the behest of the entrepreneur Carlo Pontecorvo, president of the Campania company – bought 99% of the Tuscan brand, taking over not only the shares of the Chinese fund, but also those owned by Cecilia Tessieri, maitre chocolatier and founder of the Tuscan company which has retained a 1% stake to guarantee business continuity.
“Our project for Amedei is add value while respecting tradition, applying the strengths of the business organization and commercial structure model that has already led the Ferrarelle brands to build leadership in Italy and a significant presence in some international markets,” said Carlo Pontecorvo.
Tradition, research, work, innovation, excellence: these are the qualities that have allowed Amedei to become a reference in the chocolate processing chain. Amedei discovers the best, most authentic plantations and seeds, and often the subject of agronomic recoveries and ensures a qualitative primacy that distinguishes it and which has allowed it to win several times at the Chocolate Academy in London the chocolate Oscar winner in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
