We are a young company with a long past, and a small team with a big heart. This is the story of how it all began…

Did you know that The Belgian Chocolate Makers was founded during one of the most complicated periods in recent history, at the height of the coronavirus crisis and Belgium’s first lockdown?

Gudrun, an industrial group from Flanders directed by their investment fund Down 2 Earth Capital, took advantage of the Covid pandemic to close down the Zaabar chocolaterie and relocate their production lines to Poland. The entire Zaabar team learned of the bankruptcy through a single phone call from the appointed administrator on 30/03/2020.

Abandoned by Gudrun and their financial advisors, the staff then decided to take their destiny into their own hands. Driven by the determination of Elisabetta Passafaro and Stéphane Perrin, they decided to revive the spirit of Zaabar by creating their own chocolate business: a small company rooted in ethics and locality, crafting chocolate exclusively from sustainable and traceable cacao.

"The pandemic amplified an already challenging moment for me, making the need for self-expression more essential than ever. Lockdown disrupted my routine but also gave me the space to reflect on my long-term goals. That’s when I decided to turn a dream into reality and launch my own chocolate brand."

Elisabetta Passafaro is our chef chocolatier. At just 27 years old, she has already launched three chocolate stores, a huge 170m2 training centre, two chocolate laboratories, and a bean-to-bar factory in the heart of Brussels. She created her own registered brand, The Belgian Chocolate Makers®, and even developed a signature selection of pure origin cacao bars sourced from Congo, Colombia, Philippines and all around the world. Today, she is beginning to expand her vision beyond Belgium by opening a new project in China.

A graduate of the Accademia Maestri Cioccolatieri Italiani, Elisabetta was awarded Master 2018 with an impressive score of 94/100. During her training, she embarked on a life-changing journey through Brazil, immersing herself in the world of cocoa. She met and learned from growers and producers, lived in the jungle, shared meals with Amazonian communities, and took part in chocolate tastings with South American researchers. It was during this experience that she discovered chocolate was not only her craft but her calling—so much so that she had a large cocoa pod tattooed on her shoulder as a lifelong reminder of her passion.

Today, our team counts a dozen of passionate collaborators who share the same dedication. Together, in 2026, we will proudly achieve a turnover of more than €1,500,000 with only two stores in Brussels, proof that hard work, authenticity, and passion truly pay off.

After her first journey to cacao plantations in Brazil, Elisabetta returned to Europe determined to deepen her understanding of Belgian chocolate craftsmanship. In mid-2018, through the Erasmus+ internship program, she arrived in Belgium and joined the Zaabar chocolaterie as an intern. Already experienced in chocolate making, she quickly immersed herself in the world of artisanal Belgian chocolate.

But fate had other plans. Just days before Belgium entered its first lockdown, Zaabar was declared bankrupt. By March 2020, while more than three billion people around the world were confined, Elisabetta suddenly found herself without work in a foreign country.

Instead of giving up, she chose to transform uncertainty into opportunity. Driven by her passion for handcrafted chocolate, she decided to create her own brand and build something meaningful from the ground up.

Elisabetta joined forces with Patricia and Stéphane, two colleagues she had met at Zaabar. Patricia, a pastry graduate with extensive retail management experience, and Stéphane, with a strong background in international business development, each brought complementary expertise to the project. Within only a few days, the trio secured a building in the heart of Brussels for what would become their first chocolate boutique.

With no external investors and relying solely on their personal savings, they launched the company in record time. After overcoming the administrative, operational, and financial challenges of starting a business during a global pandemic, the three founders committed themselves to building a sustainable company rooted in craftsmanship, transparency, and ethical cacao sourcing. This is where our promise of 100% handcrafted chocolate made in Brussels with ethically sourced cacao was born.

From the very beginning, The Belgian Chocolate Makers earned the trust and support of important financial partners including ING Bank, Grenke, and Finance Brussels. Their confidence provided the stability and resources needed to transform an ambitious vision into a real entrepreneurial success story.

Within only a few weeks, the company was officially established and operations began in Brussels. Despite the uncertainty of the pandemic and the challenges of launching a new business during an unprecedented global crisis, the small founding team demonstrated remarkable resilience, adaptability, and determination.

Step by step, what began as a bold idea evolved into a fully operational business built on sustainable growth, ethical practices, and genuine passion for chocolate. Today, our story stands as proof that commitment, collaboration, and perseverance can transform adversity into lasting success.

The vision became reality on the 8th of June 2020 with the opening of our very first store in the heart of Brussels. From day one, the founders demonstrated their long-term commitment by securing an initial order of four tons of cacao beans, laying the foundations for a sustainable bean-to-bar production model.

Since then, the company has grown steadily year after year. In 2023, our Brussels store achieved a turnover of €1.2 million. This performance was successfully maintained throughout 2024 and 2025, confirming both the resilience of our business model and the growing demand for authentic, ethically crafted Belgian chocolate.

Why we opened an office in Ireland

As our chocolate workshops continued to grow in popularity, we needed a dedicated team to manage the increasing number of reservations coming through our website and major travel platforms such as Viator, Airbnb Experiences, TripAdvisor, and GetYourGuide. Ireland quickly emerged as the ideal location for this expansion.

Our office in Dublin became the operational heart of our reservation system. From there, an experienced team coordinates bookings, supports travel partners, answers customer enquiries, and ensures that each workshop operates smoothly and reaches its full potential.

This dedicated structure allows every guest, whether booking directly through us or through one of our international partners, to enjoy a seamless, reliable, and welcoming experience from the very first interaction.

By establishing our Irish office, we strengthened our ability to respond to growing international demand while continuing to provide the high level of service that defines The Belgian Chocolate Makers.

Why we opened an office in the United Kingdom

Our passion for handcrafted, ethical chocolate has taken us far beyond Brussels, and London naturally became the next step in our journey.

We opened our office in London to better support the growing number of travellers, agencies, and partners booking our chocolate workshops from abroad. As one of Europe’s major international hubs, London provides the perfect base for strengthening relationships with our British visitors and improving operational efficiency for overseas bookings.

However, this new entity is far more than a support office. It also represents a key pillar of our long-term expansion strategy in the United Kingdom. From London, our team develops future partnerships, coordinates upcoming projects, and prepares the introduction of our Belgian bean-to-bar expertise to the UK market.

In short, our London branch brings us closer to the world, supports our international growth, and allows us to share the spirit of The Belgian Chocolate Makers with even more chocolate lovers across the United Kingdom.

A new chapter in our journey: China, and more specifically Haikou

What began in Brussels with a dream and a few cacao beans is now entering an exciting new chapter. After years of building relationships with farmers, partners, and chocolate lovers across continents, we are proud and humbled to announce our expansion to China in 2026.

Over the past months, we have developed strong partnerships with Chinese investors and local stakeholders who share our vision of ethical, sustainable, and transparent chocolate production.

Together, we chose the province of Hainan, and more specifically Haikou, as the location for this next stage of our development. As a Free Trade Zone, Haikou represents both a gateway to mainland China and a dynamic environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and international collaboration.

Our ambition is significant. In Haikou, we plan to create a bean-to-bar discovery and training centre where visitors, students, and future artisans will be able to learn the complete craft of chocolate making, from the cacao bean itself to the finished chocolate bar, while discovering the importance of transparency, traceability, and respect for cacao farmers.

Alongside this educational centre, we also plan to build a new bean-to-bar chocolate factory dedicated to bringing Belgian chocolate expertise and ethical production values into the heart of China.

This project represents an important step forward for our company, bringing both challenges and opportunities. More than simply expanding our brand internationally, we believe this initiative is about building cultural bridges, sharing knowledge, and demonstrating that chocolate can carry values far beyond indulgence, values rooted in people, sustainability, and purpose.

Over the past months, we have developed strong partnerships with Chinese investors and local stakeholders who share our vision of ethical, sustainable, and transparent chocolate production. In addition, we have partnered with the largest cacao plantation on the island of Hainan, home to more than 30,000 cacao trees. Together, we are working toward an ambitious goal: creating the very first premium cacao of Hainan, combining local agricultural potential with Belgian bean-to-bar expertise and international quality standards.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us throughout this incredible journey. And as we prepare for this new chapter, we remain guided by the same principles that inspired us from the very beginning: crafting chocolate with honesty, connecting people through passion, and continuing to dream without limits.

China 2026: the adventure continues.