always in pursuit of better chocolate

Octaaf Callebaut, grandson of a brewer in the small Belgian town of Wieze, had secretly been working on his first chocolate recipe. For months, the fine scent of freshly roasted cocoa beans had made everyone curious. When the brewers finally tasted his first chocolate coming out of the conche, they witnessed the predecessors of Callebaut's first ever Finest Belgian Chocolate. Sold under the Salvator brand name – the patron saint of the village of Wieze – small shops in the outlaying villages and their customers became fond of this new chocolate… and the news spread fast.

During the years of war and the time between wars, chocolatiers and bakers struggled to obtain necessary ingredients for their sweet creations, including chocolate. However, after the war ended, the Callebaut family made a decision to concentrate on producing chocolate couvertures specifically for Belgian chocolatiers. This partnership laid the foundation for the renowned reputation of Belgian chocolates.

The next generation in the family business, Charles Callebaut, invented a way to transport liquid chocolate to chocolate companies. It allowed them to supply their customers faster and reduced the labour-intensive re-melting and re-tempering in the artisan ateliers. This invention early on in the 20th century marks the entrepreneurial spirit of the Callebaut family to make high-quality chocolate more accessible and find ways of efficiently guaranteeing perfect end results.

With the introduction of the Callets™, Callebaut sides even more with the artisan chocolate chefs. These solid chocolate drops allow chefs to dose, melt and temper the chocolate more accurately – improving the workability of chocolate and supporting chefs to obtain great end results.

Callebaut merges with the French Cacao Barry. Callebaut remains a 100% Belgian brand – still crafting all its Finest Belgian Chocolate in Belgium from bean to bar.

Callebaut celebrates its 100 years of chocolate making together with artisan chefs all over the world. After 100 years, every chocolate recipe is crafted with respect for Octaaf’s original chocolates created in 1911. Anniversary celebrations are held from Japan to Mexico, with artisan chefs and confectioners at the heart of the celebrations. Their great chocolate stories form a common thread throughout all the events.

Callebaut opens its flagship Chocolate Academy™ centre in Wieze. It is a brand new home for chefs and chocolatiers to find inspiration, learn about chocolate techniques and exchange experiences. The Callebaut Chocolate Academy hosts a small plantation, a Beanology-room, a chocolate library, a tasting ritual room. And the heart of the Chocolate Academy™ features 4 fully equipped work spaces where bakers, pastry chefs, confectioners and restaurant chefs can bring their chocolate skills to the next level.

After dark, milk and white, ruby is the most uncommon chocolate discovery in 80 years. This gift of mother nature surprises and bedazzles with a completely new colour and taste experience, born from the ruby cocoa bean - without adding any colourants or fruit flavourings. Apart from its colour, the taste of ruby is a totally new experience: fruity and intense fruitiness and fresh, sour notes.

Being always in pursuit of better, we start making our cocoa liquor from traceable and 100% sustainable cocoa beans. We directly partner with cocoa farmer cooperatives in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Ecuador active in the Cocoa Horizons programme. The programme focuses on empowering cocoa farmers to prosper through training, know-how and community activities.