Page 20 - December 2020 January 2021

A

Commitment

To Innovation

From conching and refining their own chocolate bars
to purveying 3-star Michelin restaurants, Artisan du

Chocolat has broken the mould and redefined modern
luxury British chocolates since 1999. In this interview,

RLI discusses with Chairman & CEO Mohamed Elsarky
what his plans are for the brand moving forward to help
it reach its undoubted global potential.

rtisan du Chocolat is a luxury British “Artisan du Chocolat has tremendous unexplored
chocolatier that offers its own unique potential to extend its unique creations to consumers
and delicious range of chocolates worldwide,” comments Mohamed Elsarky, Chairman & CEO
A through its branded stores in London, of Artisan du Chocolat. “We plan to expand the company’s
online and through co-manufacturing for some of retail presence initially to Asia, Europe and the Middle East
the leading premium retailers in the UK. followed by North America and Latin America over the next
Founded in 1999 by Anne Weyns, she continues in the five years. We also see tremendous growth opportunities in
business today in her role as Chief Chocolate Adventurer wholesale and travel retail.”
for a company that has attracted praise from the best of After a difficult year, Elsarky feels the next 12 months will
the best in its 21-year history, with Gordon Ramsay being be a time for the brand to focus on building both capacity
their first customer dubbing it “the Bentley of Chocolate” and capabilities to meet projected demand and to prepare
and Michel Roux Jnr describing their products as “the leading for future growth whilst also developing the online platform.
light in the world of modern chocolate”. “You always need to start with excellent products that
The business has recently announced the sale of a majority surprise and delight consumers. Due to the creativity and
stake to former Godiva Chairman & CEO Mohamed Elsarky, innovative thinking displayed by Anne Weyns, Founder
who with a global FMCG and private equity background was and current Chief Creative Adventurer, we have these in
responsible for the turn-around and expansion of Godiva abundance. Now we need to elevate our brand awareness
as the leading prestige retailer of Belgian chocolates across and create a must-have desire to experience our products
international markets. in a welcoming and interactive environment,”Elsarky explains.