Chocolate, Gobino speaks: "Not only giandujotti, new flavors are on the way"

Giandujotti, but not only. Also experimenting with new flavors, attention to raw materials and sustainability, and a great desire to grow abroad, with the secret dream of opening a shop in a European capital. It is the story of Guido Gobino, a well-known chocolatier from Turin, who in the Italian city best known for chocolate carries on a family mission: in 1964 his father Giuseppe becomes production manager of a small factory in via Cagliari, where chocolates and candy for third parties. In 1980 Giuseppe Gobino became the owner of the factory, which in the 90s became the “Giandujotto Artisan Workshop” and then, under Guido's guidance, a shop where craftsmanship and modernity merge to offer the highest quality. In 2007 the path was consolidated with the opening of the Bottega in via Lagrange, right in the most central and monumental area of ​​the city of Turin. “L'uma semper fait parej”, we've always done it this way, he says the website, to confirm a tradition and a passion that have been going on for over 50 years. And that Guido Gobino has decided to tell First&Food.

Mr. Gobino, craftsmanship and globalization often don't mix, yet your workshop sells all over the world. Is it excellence, rather than large-scale distribution, that best promotes Made in Italy?

“It's the only path we have, because quality makes the difference. What is asked, especially abroad, when it comes to made in Italy, is the authenticity and quality of the product, whether it's chocolate or something else. Made in Italy is known and appreciated as a product of excellence”.

However, the more mainstream storefronts are a key vehicle. How important was the possibility of entering the Eataly bazaar for a boutique like yours?

“Eataly was truly a great opportunity, both for the showcase it gave to producers like us in Italy (among other things, the first store opened right here in Turin), and for the visibility we had abroad, from Brazil to the USA, from Japan to the Middle East. Eataly was a great idea because it allowed small entrepreneurs, producers of excellence, to reach the general public".

In food, as in other sectors, the "experience" in which to involve the consumer, rather than just the product, is increasingly fashionable. We have seen it for coffee, with the concept of the new Starbucks store in Milan but also of the Lavazza flagship store. Do you organize personalized visits and experiences? How can the chocolate market evolve in this sense?

“Yes, we have been organizing visits to our production laboratory in Turin for some time now, every morning from Monday to Friday. It is possible to book on our site. And speaking of coffee, it was precisely with Lavazza that we created a partnership dedicated to taste: for a year now, in their Milan store, in addition to the fine blends of coffee presented to the customer, it is possible to taste special selections of artisan chocolates created specifically for this kind of 'experience'. In general, I believe that for small producers like us, who don't have the opportunity to carry out major communication and advertising campaigns, educating the consumer on taste, on recognizing the quality and sensory profile of food, is essential. The customer must learn to taste and analyze chocolate using their senses, which ultimately are the ones they will trust the most. Then later he can decide whether to spend less for a product of a certain type, or more for a high quality product. Taste education was born with SlowFood in the 90s”.

Italy has a great tradition in chocolate, but has to contend with competition from other countries, such as France. Where are we in international consideration, and how can we improve?

“We have nothing to envy the French, who in fact respect us, but we could do much more, and not just with chocolate. Suffice it to say that, always on a par with the French, we are the best producers of quality wine in the world, yet every time I go to wine shops abroad I find few Italian labels and many French ones. The problem is always the same: they sell themselves better, they are masters of communication. And so also in chocolate: we are known for Nutella, but few know that we are able to make excellent artisan chocolate. Made in Italy works when it is linked to big brands, such as those of fashion and luxury, I am thinking of Armani, Ferrari; in other cases we sometimes pass for second-tier producers. But we're not at all."

What are the most interesting markets for high quality chocolate today? Where did you find the greatest interest in made in Italy products?

“Just about everywhere in the world, but if I have to choose a country, I choose Japan which, especially in my sector, has a deep passion and great interest in Italian products. The Japanese consumer is increasingly competent and I would say increasingly demanding”.

Speaking of internationalization: your shop is linked to the city of Turin but also present elsewhere in Italy, and you sell products all over the world. Are you thinking of opening stores abroad, and if so where?

“The intention is there, even if it's not easy because there are costs. We are a completely independent reality, we don't have large groups behind us as other artisan producers have, so we need to carefully weigh the choices. To start, I'd like a European capital: perhaps Paris, even if challenging the French at home is tough, or London, Berlin, Munich".

Raw materials: from where do you mainly import cocoa and which are, in your opinion, the areas of the world where you can find the best quality raw materials?

“The best quality cocoa comes from Venezuela. Then there are other Latin American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico, where we adopted a Slow Food presidium in the Chontolpa region in 2014. There we have direct contact with the farmers, with whom we are doing a great job and will soon renew the agreement for another four years. We recently tried a new cocoa from Tanzania, which turned out to be interesting.”

What attention does your company dedicate to the issue of environmental sustainability?

“In addition to the agreement with SlowFood, we have been buying hazelnuts for 20 years from companies in the Piedmontese Langhe, with which we have direct contact and which guarantee us the maximum quality and sustainability of the product. As for sugar, after the disappearance of Eridania a new all-Italian company was born, a cooperative that brings together 1.000 beet sugar producers in the Rovigo area. This is Italia Zuccheri and we are about to close an agreement with them as well. The issue of sugar is important, because cane sugar comes from abroad, where they often make minors work in the fields and the mortality rate is very high, due to the use of machetes to cut plants. An Italian sugar will certainly cost more but it is an effort I gladly make. It is not autarchy, but a search for quality: and if there is quality in Italy, it must be rewarded. As for the milk: we use the powdered one from InAlpi, a local Piedmontese company that guarantees sustainable farms and a fair price paid to the farmers. It is a way to depend less on foreign milk and to support Italian agriculture. Even paying more."

A pseudo-healthy trend has also spread in the chocolate market in recent years, influenced by veganism and raw food. For example, the so-called raw chocolate is in fashion. Can you explain what it consists of and if it's really that healthy and respectful of the environment?

“It is basically cocoa beans that have not been roasted at the origin but dried in the sun for several days, therefore at a low processing temperature so as not to alter, according to its supporters, the nutritional qualities of the cocoa. But there is no scientific support for this thesis. Indeed a recent study has shown just the opposite, that a traditionally processed cocoa keeps its properties higher. Not to mention that we should evaluate whether the cocoa, certified as organic according to the standards, is truly organic".

We close by talking about flavors and new trends: what are your historical specialties? And what new combinations are you experimenting with for the next few months?

“As Turinese we could not fail to be specialized in giandujotti. A year ago, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the opening of our shop in via Lagrange, in the center of Turin, we launched the Tourinot n.10, the Giandujotto Tourinot in a 5 g mignon format, which combines the softness of the IGP Piedmont Hazelnut dark chocolate. In the summer season, a cult product is the Stik, an artisan ice lolly that we offer in different varieties of chocolate as well as seasonal fruit flavours. Speaking of the season, we are now in autumn and it is the time of the pumpkin, which we use every year - selecting the raw material among the excellence of the area - to package chocolates but also macarons. As for a new flavor in the works, for 2019 I would bet on the white chocolate, ginger and sage chocolate".