Christmas is the most prosperous time of the year, for Toulouse chocolate maker Criollo, as well as the entire industry. “We make roughly 50% of our annual turnover in one month“indicates Jean-Pierre Dujon-Lombard, the founder of the company. For this dense period, the company calls on seasonal workers, with a lot of preparation upstream, in particular on the packaging.
But beyond this period, Criollo sees further, and will open current 2022 a new production workshop in Lanta (Haute-Garonne), in a 1,200 m² building. Until now, the production of chocolates was concentrated in Saint-Pierre-de-Lages, the neighboring town, but the site had become too small.
Cutting-edge technologies
“It will be a very technical building, with engineering for the air treatment, so that the chocolates are very shiny, that the crystallization is done well, etc.“specifies Jean-Pierre Dujon-Lombard. Criollo will also be able to use water jet cutting,”to make lace in small casts, almost to make goldsmith’s work“rejoices the chocolate maker:”it will be the ultimate“.
The Lauragais company has also been relying on the internet since 2020, with an e-commerce site. 3% of turnover for now, but it is above all a question of image and customer experience, judge Jean-Pierre Dujon-Lombard, who claims to have “plenty of ideas for the future”.