In recent years, a few hundred entrepreneurs have started in the Netherlands, mostly selling homemade chocolate products. The Chamber of Commerce (KVK) reports that the number of luxury chocolate companies has increased by almost 30 percent since 2017.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, more than 950 companies were registered in 2017, at the beginning of this year there were already more than 1200. Many chocolate shops have been added, especially in times of corona.
Most (504) are located in North and South Holland. If the number of inhabitants is also taken into account, there are relatively many chocolate shops in Zeeland and Limburg, with 9.8 and 9.7 chocolate shops per 100,000 inhabitants respectively. The supply is lowest in Flevoland (4.6), Overijssel (4.8) and Drenthe (4.8).
Bakers also sell chocolate
Moreover: more and more artisan bakers are selling chocolate, says Arend Kisteman, chairman of the Dutch Bread and Pastry Bakers Association (NBOV). With his own business – De Stadsbakker in Zwolle – he also started with chocolate two years ago. “You notice that the demand for this is only increasing.”
Why that is, remains somewhat puzzling for Kisteman: ,,People are willing to pay more money for good chocolate. That kind of started around corona, when people sat at home, couldn’t go on vacation, and spent their money on other things. To chocolate, for example, to treat yourself.
He compares it to the almond bar for Christmas: “Once you’ve tasted that from a baker, you don’t want a bar from the supermarket anymore.”
Home bakers
The figures from the Chamber of Commerce do not show what kind of business is being opened. Kisteman suspects that many entrepreneurs also make chocolate from home, just as many home bakers have joined. At the same time, the number of traditional bakers has been declining for years; successors are hard to find, because too few young people want to become bakers. There are now about 3,500 traditional bakeries in the Netherlands, and it is expected that dozens of bakers will disappear in the coming years.
Young people complain, among other things, about getting up early. ,, Chocolatiers do not have to, they can work during the day. Moreover, of course they have machines and refrigeration, but no ovens that have to run on expensive gas. The chocolatiers have a real right to exist, and the chances of finding a job in the trade are great.”
He himself is not considering turning his business into a chocolate shop. “You should no longer be allowed to work with bread. And that’s something people eat every day.”
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