Nestle/Cailler

The Nestle/Cailler facility in Broc was probably my favorite trip to this point. I absolutely loved the chocolate factory. It was not only educational, but entertaining.

Upon our arrival, we immediately entered the facility and got inline for the tour. From what I understand, this visit was different from the other visits we will make for the remainder of our stay because there was no executive available to answer our questions and explain the inner workings of the company. While that would have been nice, I doubt that it would have been necessary to understand how chocolate is made. The presentation they gave was not only informative, but very entertaining.

I was not expecting the chocolate experience to be on par with the Disneyland experience, but it was. The presentation that Cailler gave about its chocolate was animatronic, and explained the roots of chocolate from the days of the ancient Aztecs to the French Revolution to the Great Depression to today. All the while, several different interactive displays highlight the various production elements and procedures that are engaged in the chocolate production process. And of course, at the end, we were able to taste-test the various Cailler chocolates.

I would like to take this moment to salute Cailler on a terrific business strategy. They charge you for this really cool tour that tells you all about the history of Cailler and the history and importance of Chocolate in Switzerland, then they let you see how some of the chocolate is made, then they let you taste some of it, and then they lead you into a shop where you can buy chocolate at incredibly high prices. I was told that our group spent nearly CHF 550 on the chocolate alone, nevermind the cost of the tour and the bus that got us there. Cailler made bank on us.

As we studied, Cailler gets practically all of its beans imported from South America. In the presentation, they mentioned the ancient Aztecs and Quetzalcoatl as well as the European conquistadores. They said that after Cortez brought back the cocoa bean, Europe became addicted to chocolate and took complete advantage of this South American plant. However, up until now, the question of whether or not Nestle contributes much to the economic well being of these nations beyond taking advantage of the cocoa beans that grow there remains unanswered. I would be curious to know if Nestle makes significant contributions to the well-being of the nations where their commodities are grown, if that information is available.

All in all, a very informative and entertaining visit. I loved it.