Callebaut’s life like a box of chocolates

It seems fitting that Bernard Callebaut’s world-famous chocolates bear his name.

The man behind Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut is as enchanting as the enticing, hand-crafted chocolates his company produces.

Calgary’s master chocolatier sports the effervescence of a praline doused in rum and a sense of humour as rich as a champagne truffle.

He seems a lot like a boy who spent his childhood playing in a chocolate factory. 1. Is life, as Forrest Gump’s mother states in the movie, indeed like a box of chocolates?

Larry MacDougal, Business Edge

Master chocolatier Bernard Callebaut actually loses weight over Christmas.

(Callebaut slaps his knee and explodes with laughter.) “Well, what I’m finding out lately after being in the chocolate business for so long is that chocolate is a very positive business. I’ve only realized that lately in life. It’s something that makes people happy. It makes them smile. And that’s what life is about, to have good fun, to laugh, to enjoy oneself. So life should be a box of chocolates. Yes.”

2. Are you able to run your business with that philosophy of making it fun?

“You have to run the business in a professional manner. But you know what? Once in a while, you can have fun. I can give you an example. On Halloween, I dressed up like a monk and surprised everyone when I went trick or treating. But I’m afraid I came home too late that night, so a lot of kids I’m sure were unhappy because they didn’t get any chocolates.”

(A fit Callebaut sprints over to the nearby factory for samples of his chocolates for the writer’s research.)

3. Mmmmm . . . why are your chocolates so good?

“In North America, people think chocolate is what you get with the candy bar. But in commercial chocolate like that, the filling itself is about 80 per cent sugar. That’s why some people say they don’t like chocolate. But that chocolate you ate might have perhaps 30 per cent sugar or less, and you have more of a cocoa flavour. That’s something we’ve improved over the years, gradually bringing the sugar content down. I have changed the formula of our basic chocolate already four times to bring the cocoa content up and the sugar content down because that’s what our clients want.”

4. How many chocolates a day do you sample?

“Now that I’m working in the factory myself because it’s high season, I usually eat a dozen pieces a day. But I still lose weight during the Christmas season because it’s good exercise. To me, the chocolate is a treat, a sophisticated treat, and I get a lot of satisfaction helping make them because it’s something you can do with your hands. I’m also an engineer, which is my background, and that helps me in finding better ways to produce the chocolates. I cannot sell a chocolate I think is bad. It’s like asking a chef in a kitchen to make a dish he doesn’t like.”

5. How does the system of granting dealerships for stores differ from the franchise system?

“We provide most of the products and the packaging, and the dealership owner has to operate the store in a certain way. We sell them the products, and the store owners retail it. There are no royalties involved from their sales. So, in a nutshell, I’m more a manufacturer than a retailer. We own a couple of retail stores ourselves – the main one here (at the head office at 13th Avenue and 1st St. S.E.) and one on 17th Avenue. And we plan to open another at the airport in 2004.”

6. Is the chocolate business essentially recession proof?

“I have been here since March, 1983, when the economy in Alberta was very poor. So I’ve been through a couple of recessions. But what we found is that our sales never dropped. We saw a different buying pattern in tougher times. For instance, instead of a $50 item, customers were buying items of lesser value. But because we were getting more people through the door, sales still improved. I think chocolate is close to being recession proof, because it’s something that you want to treat yourself with. Hershey in the ’30s (Depression years) actually didn’t lay anybody off. My customers came up with the perfect line, that it’s an affordable luxury so you don’t have to spend a fortune. Those four chocolates that you have would cost you probably $3.50.”

7. What was it like growing up across the street from your family’s chocolate factory in Wieze, Belgium?

“I was literally born across the street from the factory. It was fun to play in a chocolate factory. When I was six, we built a house that was literally joined to the factory. I could jump from my bedroom on to the roof of the garage and right into the factory. Later in life, you realize that it’s a kid’s dream to grow up in a chocolate factory. I realize only now how fortunate I was.”

8. What did you learn from the way your father Charles Callebaut ran the chocolate factory in Belgium that you’ve been able to channel into your own business?

“My father ran the business from 1945 until 1972 when he passed away. He always took care of the people. He really ran it like a family. He really made sure he took care of the people, and there were families who worked in the factory for three generations. The reality is that it is the people that makes the business click. Sure, you have a person who motivates the people, et cetera, but it’s the people that do the work. I always say that the person who puts the hazelnut on top of the chocolate, that’s ultimately what you, the customer, are going to notice – how that hazelnut is sitting on the chocolate. So that person who built that chocolate is a big part of the team. So I learned from my dad that (employees) have to do a good job if they want to stay with the business, but we have to treat them properly. That was always part of the philosophy.”

9. How did your family get started in the chocolate business in 1911?

“My great-great grandfather started the business as a brewer first in 1850. Then, came Charles Louis (Bernard’s great-grandfather), who was a very entrepreneurial type of person. He decided to get into the chocolate business, and he sent his two sons to Paris to learn the trade. His two sons learned the trade and then came back and started the chocolate business.”

10. Why did your family decide to sell the business in 1980 to Suchard Toblerone?

“Once my father passed away, we (siblings) were too young to take over the business, and it’s a very capital-intensive business. When you grow, you have to have bigger and bigger investments. My dad knew that was a little bit of a dilemma with the family business and was working on (the sale), but never finalized it because he passed away. We had to have a strategic alliance or take the company public because we were at a size of about $100 million in (annual) sales. It was the right time to sell. My father also wanted to make sure that if someone in the family took over the business, they were qualified and were not just there because of the Callebaut name. I was happy to start on my own as my great-great grandfather had done.”

11. What was your boyhood dream?

“I really wanted to become a race car driver. (Callebaut howls with laughter). Unfortunately, my parents were not too enthusiastic about that. But that was only when I was little. I did get it out of my system. I’ve done some amateur racing at Race City Speedway and at schools in Quebec and California.”

12. What kind of sports car do you drive?

“Oh, it’s an Audi stationwagon. As I said, it’s out of the system! I need a stationwagon to put the dog (Bijou, the company mascot) in.”

13. What led you to Calgary in 1982 as home base for your chocolate business?

“Canada appealed to me because it was a young country, and I travelled east to west across Canada three times. I like the mountains. I thought Alberta had a lot to offer and I thought this province has to have a future. I brought chocolate samples and people liked them.”

14. How much chocolate will you produce this year?

“We use about 650,000 pounds of bulk chocolate, so the finished product would be about 800,000 to 900,000 pounds. I think we use 10 tons of butter. My wife (chief operating officer Francesca Callebaut) and I don’t want to push the growth. We want natural growth. Our goal is not to make the company the biggest. We want to make it the best. As a corporation, we will do approximately $11 million (in 2002 revenue).”

15. How successful are your online chocolate sales?

“I’m a strong believer in the future of it, because you can see the products online. I think the 800 number (phone sales) will eventually be replaced by (online sales). But I still think the key thing is that we’re still a bricks-and-mortar business long term, because chocolate is about smelling. In reality, going into a chocolate store is like walking into a fantasy world. It speaks to your imagination. There are tools to help selling, but I think we will always sell most of our volume through the retail outlets.”

16. What’s the best advice you’d offer a budding executive or entrepreneur?

“To be successful, you have to be persistent. Don’t give up. Keep on fighting. Also, remember that companies are built with people. There are many Bernard Callebauts running around. Sure, my name is on the building. But ultimately, everyone in the business is important. It’s real teamwork that builds companies. Sure, you can buy machinery all you want, but it’s the people that make it click and make things happen. For me, it’s easy to say: ‘Make 100 tons of chocolate!’ But someone ultimately has to make the 100 tons of chocolate. That’s the way I see it.”

17. How important is money to you?

“I don’t run the business to make money. I think it’s an effect afterwards that will come in any case. What I enjoy is making a quality product. You know what? I’m happy if I can travel, if I can have a good dinner and a fine bottle of wine.”

18. Have you considered taking your company public?

“We looked at it, but there were some big drawbacks. My wife and I think long term. But if you’re in the public market, it’s not easy to think long term. If you say you’re not going to make profit or you’re going to make very little profit for the next couple of years, you’ll get crucified (as a public company). So you lose a certain amount of control. I think it’s important in a business that you can put forth long-term strategies. The way we see it, it’s not the way to go.”

19. I brought my chequebook. Will you sell the company today?

“Everything is for sale. That’s the reality. But at this point, I haven’t put any thought into it at all.”

20. Considering your passion for the chocolate business, how do you think you would manage if you didn’t have this company to manage?

“There are other things I wouldn’t mind doing. I love to travel. I don’t think I would be bored. I would come up with some ideas. My wife and I enjoy sailing. I think it’s a relaxing way to travel. It’s slow and it’s great. I’m taking sailing lessons. It’s super. It’s the same as camping, but it’s on the water. You don’t have a stove and fridge. It won’t happen in the next couple of years, but, in the long term, I want to do that. Who’s to say that at some point in the future, when I want an opportunity to travel more, that I won’t have someone take my job and run the company?”

IN PROFILE: Bernard Callebaut
* Born/raised/age: Wieze, Belgium; 48.
* Training: Electromechanical engineer.
* Family: Wife Francesca.
* Career: Callebaut has spent his entire career as a chocolatier. In 1983, he launched Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, becoming the first member of his family to produce pralines (small chocolates).
* History: Callebaut’s family owned the Callebaut Chocolate Factory in Wieze, Belgium, from 1911-80, until it was sold to Suchard Toblerone, which supplies bulk chocolate to Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut. At that time, the factory was producing 77 million pounds of bulk chocolate annually.
* Accolades: Callebaut was the first North American chocolatier to be invited to the prestigious International Chocolate Festival in France and has won a number of awards there, including the top award as the Grand Prix International Artisan Chocolatier, in 1998. In 1996, the French government inducted Callebaut into the Nougat Guild and the International Order of French Gastronomy. He has also won the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Small Businessman of the Year award (1994) and the Pinnacle Award for individual determination and achievement (1991).
* Passions: Chocolate, wine, sailing.

THE COMPANY: Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut
* Brass: Bernard Callebaut, CEO; Francesca Callebaut, chief operating officer.
* Profile: The company, founded in 1983, manufactures chocolates and chocolate-related products that are sold through 38 retail locations in Canada, the U.S. and Japan. The company owns two of the stores, while all others are dealerships. There are 14 stores in Alberta – eight in Calgary, three in Edmonton, one in Red Deer, one in Banff and one in Lethbridge. In 1994, the company opened its 52,000-sq.-ft. factory and flagship store at 13th Avenue and 1st St. S.E.
* Website: www.bernardcallebaut.com
* Head Office: 1313 1st St. S.E., Calgary, AB T2G 5L1.
* Phone/Fax: 403-265-5777, 403-265-7738.
* Toll free: 1-800-661-8367.