Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Strumpen, the chocolate tradition of your company goes back a long way. How did the story of Guylian begin?

Michael Strumpen: The company was founded in 1958 out of a love story. The Belgian founder Guy Foubert, a passionate chocolatier, married his fiancée Liliane that year. The name Guylian was created by combining their first names. Guy Foubert designed the famous recipe for our nut nougat filling, while his wife was responsible for the beautiful marbling, shaping the chocolates into seafood forms, and blending white, dark, and milk chocolate.

Wirtschaftsforum: What happened next with Guylian?

Michael Strumpen: Over the decades, the company has continuously evolved. In 1985, we began constructing our current production facility in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Initially, the production line for seafood chocolates was established, then other lines were added at the same location, from the Opus series to La Trufflina truffles and the Temptations. In 2017, the production line for bar chocolate was introduced. Another important step was our brand relaunch in 2022. As part of this, we also optimized our recipes by only using whole hazelnuts. The packaging was changed to ocean green and received a new design. We removed the plastic window for environmental reasons, made the packaging recyclable, and also switched to Fairtrade-certified cocoa.

Wirtschaftsforum: How is the company positioned today?

Michael Strumpen: Our headquarters and production facility is in Sint-Niklaas near Antwerp. Additionally, we have a branch in England and our location in Krefeld for distribution in the DACH region. Guylian employs a total of 200 people. In Germany, we have a small, efficient team working in the field with four trading agencies. Our turnover is 13 million EUR, 65 million EUR generated by the entire company. We export from Belgium to about 100 countries.

Wirtschaftsforum: What impulses can you give the company as CEO?

Michael Strumpen: We are currently in rough seas, undergoing a multi-year transformation process. Since I joined the company in 2021, one crisis has followed another. Cocoa prices have been skyrocketing for 1.5 years, as well as prices for hazelnuts and sugar. Production costs have increased by 50 to 60%. This is our biggest challenge. Margins have been declining for two years. We must counteract this by repositioning ourselves and strengthening the brand to become independent in the German and European grocery trade. Our team is in the process of acquiring new customers like recently with Aldi. We need to drive our volume growth. The bundle of necessary measures includes cost control, price increases, and hedging strategies.

Wirtschaftsforum: How do you see the development in the market in general?

Michael Strumpen: The entire industry is struggling with the conditions. Volumes in the praline market are declining. People are buying fewer high-quality pralines. The revenue increases are purely driven by price. Brands are bought more on promotion. There is also a big trend towards private labels by retailers. To utilize our factory, we also need the volume from private labels.

Wirtschaftsforum: What makes the Guylian brand particularly special?

Michael Strumpen: First of all, the unique shape of our seafood chocolates, which are highly recognizable. We have eleven different shapes in the package. Also, the marbling of intertwined white, dark, and milk chocolate. Plus, the special shine. No one else can do it like that. And our nut nougat filling is also a special feature.

Wirtschaftsforum: What do you think will be the products of the future?

Michael Strumpen: Our core DNA is the seafood family, and we plan to build on that. We can develop it further in various forms, such as individually wrapped pralines in different forms, flavours, and tastes. For example, we have recently introduced a dark chocolate variant with 72% cocoa content, which is doing well. A caramel variant in the shape of seafood is also conceivable.

Wirtschaftsforum: What are the reasons for the success of your company?

Michael Strumpen: Besides the strong brand, another key success factor is certainly our strong owner. The Foubert family sold the company to the South Korean Lotte Group in 2008. It is an international, financially strong conglomerate of consumer goods investments. We benefit from having a strong partner behind us when it comes to investments. But most importantly, it's the people who would go through fire for each other. We have an excellent management team, a good mix of seasoned and new people. Our corporate culture is very hands-on. We give a lot of responsibility to our staff and trust them.