As one of Europe's oldest and most acclaimed chocolatiers, Chocolates Valor's history dates back to 1881, when Valeriano López Lloret founded the brand and gave the company its name and personality. Today the business rests in the hands of his great-grandson Pedró López López, who has been responsible for its impressive growth since 2002.
Speaking at the Chocolates Valor launch in Cape Town this week, Swiss Diveritas Group founder and director Nicolas Thoenen elaborated on the decision to introduce the brand to South African consumers.
"South Africa has a dynamic and diverse chocolate market, with offerings ranging from premium to entry-level. The South African chocolate market has grown 10% every year, except for 2019 when it grew by 5%. Other markets could only dream of those numbers," he said.
Valor products are now exported to roughly 50 countries around the world, with SA being the latest market entry. The company's original eight-step bean-to-bar production process uses fine raw ingredients sourced exclusively from the acclaimed cocoa-producing regions of Ecuador and Ghana.
Notably, Valor launched a range of sugar-free chocolates in the early 2000s, made using the natural sugar substitute Stevia. Sugar-free variants have since become a core component of the Valor product offering, catering to diabetic or glucose-intolerant consumers as well as those on low-sugar diets. Valor is currently the top-selling sugar-free chocolate brand in Spain.
Valor's traditional Premium chocolate bar range includes its 70% Intense Dark Chocolate, 85% Dark Sugar-Free Chocolate and Valor Creamy Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut with no added sugar. The 0% Sugar Added range has the same flavour and aroma as traditional Valor chocolates. Lactose-free options are also available.
The Chocolates Valor range will launch nationally through Dis-Chem, as well as select Checkers and Spar stores. The 100g chocolate slabs will sell for between R39.99 and R42.99 each.
