Weiss

 

It all began in Saint-Étienne, a center for chocolate production. Our story is the story of Eugène Weiss, creator of the company and forerunner in the luxury chocolate trade. He discovered the art of creating pralinés and blending cocoa beans, which resulted in Le Haut Chocolat®.

 

 

EUGÈNE WEISS MOVED TO SAINT-ETIENNE

Everything began in 1882 when Eugène Weiss, a young confectioner from Alsace, opened his boutique in Saint-Etienne, a center for confectionery. In the 1920s, this city was home to some 25 chocolate factories producing move than 10% of all chocolate in France.

How to describe this dear Eugène ?

Eugène was passionate about the strange alchemy of taste, that magical process that transforms cacao beans into luxury chocolate, and nuts into tasty praliné. Eugène Weiss was the son of a winemaker, but moved into the delicate art of blending cocoa beans, selecting those with the most promising aromatic profiles. He experimented with beans from different origins like his father did with his wines, to create new harmonies of tastes. 

His constant quest for the very best meant he was satisfied with nothing less than excellence, producing an extremely high quality product, Le Haut Chocolat®. His workshop became too cramped and he moved to a new factory in 1907, where he began to focus on a sector that had yet to be explored in Saint-Etienne: Producing luxury chocolates and selling to gourmet professionals. The pioneer of Le Haut Chocolat® he demonstrated an enormous capacity for creativity.

 

 

1912

INNOVATE BY OFFERING A SERVICE DELIVERY

It has been possible to order Weiss chocolate from the comfort of one’s couch since 1912, the date when Weiss produced its first mail-order catalog! Granted, deliveries by horse were a little slower than by courier, but the strategy paid off and from then on, Weiss chocolate was available across the whole of France.

 

 

1926

NAPOLITAINS FOR TRAVELING

Weiss invents “Napolitains for traveling”, a new format for the first travel-sized chocolate.

 

 

 

 

1985

ÉBÈNE 72%

Darker, darker, and darker still! In 1985, Weiss launches Ebène 72%, with the highest cocoa percentage available at the time. Since then, it has become our best seller for chocoholics, and has won the Ruban Bleu professional award from Intersuc.

 

 

 

1995

ACARIGUA 70%

Acarigua makes its debut, a bar with the crunch of roasted nibs and the punch of a dark chocolate. This indulgent creation was our first project co-developed with Parisian confectioner Michel Chaudun.

 

 

 

1999

ROUGE BAISER

Rouge Baiser is born, made from white chocolate, red berries and a twist of lemon. It was a new style of blend for a summery chocolate that is both fruity and fresh, to be enjoyed chilled, as a bar or a bonbon.

 

 

2009

PARTNER IN THE CITÉ DU DESIGN

Weiss becomes a founding partner in the Cité du Design, and integrates the notion of design into its corporate strategy.

 

 

 

 

2012

LICHU FAIR-TRADE CHOCOLATE

Weiss joins forces with Vietcacao, producing a chocolate from Vietnam, a country hitherto unexplored for its cacao production. Li-Chu is launched, a chocolate with a unique, acidic and fresh aromatic profile, with hints of nut and a touch of licorice.

 

 

 

A MAJOR INNOVATION : THE PRALINÉ POWDER

Weiss changes the face of praliné with the launch of its Intersuc award-winning Praliné Powder, opening the path to new savory and sweet creations with no compromise on quality.

 

 

2015

LAUNCH OF THE 1st SITE FOR ONLINE CHOCOLATE SALES DEDICATED TO GASTRONOMY PROFESSIONALS

Weiss launches France’s first site for online chocolate sales to gastronomy professionals, designed by chefs, for chefs. The world is changing, as people demand more accessibility, creativity, and availability, and Weiss follows suit.

 

 

 

2016

EUROPAIN INNOVATION AWARD FOR LES SUBLIMES

Les Sublimes from Weiss win the Europain innovation award. These delicious teardrop-shaped chocolate chips have been carefully developed to hold their shape perfectly during cooking. Les Sublimes were created in partnership with Raoul Maeder, a loyal client and artisan baker and pâtissier from the Alsace region.

 

 

2016

THE INAUGURATION OF LES ATELIERS WEISS

The idea for Les Ateliers Weiss came about very naturally, following the many requests from the people of Saint-Étienne who wanted to visit the factory, and from the desire of the teams at Weiss to talk about their work and their expertise. Our aim is to create a unique gathering place in Saint-Étienne where chocolate, culture, and gastronomy can come together.