Galler (founded 1976) is a Belgian

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

company, which has its head office in Vaux-sous-Chèvremont, a tiny village in the area of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. The company markets various products such as

chocolate bars A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of En ...

, slabs of chocolate, pralines,

macarons A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sand ...

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, and spreads. It also has a number of franchised boutiques under its brand.

History

Jean Galler, born in

on 6 February 1955, began his schooling at the Liège hotel school, and worked as an apprentice in the family bakery founded by his grandfather in 1930.Dominique Auzias, ''Petit Futé: Guide du chocolat et des confiseries'', Petit Futé, 2006, pp. 61,62. He was distinguished with being named the Best Apprentice in Belgium at the age of 19.Jacques Mercier, ''Belges en France'', Lannoo Uitgeverij, 2006, p. 81. He then went to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

to attend development courses at the school for pastry chefs and confectioners, COBA, before carrying out an internship in 1975 at Gaston Lenôtre in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Passionate about

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

, at 21 years old he had the opportunity to take over the facilities of the former chocolate factory ''Régal des Fées'' in Clermont-sur-Berwinne, previously owned by chocolate factories ''Aiglon'' (

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

) then ''Clovis'' (

Pepinster Pepinster ( or ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Pepinster had a total population of 9,560. The total area is 24.79 km2 which gives a population density of 386 inhabitants per km2 ...

), and so, together with his father, create the Galler Chocolate Factory in Vaux-sous-Chèvremont in 1976. In 1994, he became Official Supplier by Appointment to the Court of Belgium and the following year he was elected ''manager of the year'' by ''

Trends A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors that ...

''. The same year, Jean Galler worked with cartoonist Philippe Geluck to create "Langues de Chat" illustrating the character of

Le Chat ''Le Chat'' (''Le Cat'' in English-language editions) is a Belgian comic strip, created by Philippe Geluck. Foremost published daily in the newspaper '' Le Soir'' from March 22, 1983, until March 23, 2013, it is since issued directly as complete ...

. Nearly twenty years later, Geluck and Galler changed their range and named it ''Les Chocolats du Chat'' to avoid confusion with biscuits of the same name.

Development

In 2013, the Galler chocolate factory was present in more than thirty countries and had its own network of franchised boutiques in Belgium and abroad. The first boutique was opened in 1995 on the

Grand-Place The (French language, French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central Town square, square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque architecture, Baroque guildhalls of ...

in Brussels and, in 2002, the company received the Innovation Award at the Franchise Fair of Brussels, for the development of his "Chocolate-Tea" concept, tasting rooms of chocolate in all its forms and of tea from different places of origin. Galler products, particularly ''Les Chocolats du Chat'', are exported to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere. In 2006, two members of the Qatari royal family

Al Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Adnanites, Adnanite Banu Tamim tribe. Today Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his mother Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir lead the house. History and structure ...

(Sheikh Sultan and Sheikh Mohamed) invested in 33% of the Belgian company's shares, with the Galler family holding 52% and Galler managers 15%. In 2007, an increase in capital of 2.7 million euros brought the Qatari involvement up to 39% of the company's capital, the Galler family giving up an absolute majority of voting rights in the board of directors, while remaining the main shareholder with 41%. Company executives then held the remaining 12%. In 2011, Qatari shareholders reinvested around 10 million euros. In 2012, several company managers sold their shares to the

family, which acquired a majority without the exact distribution of shares known because of a confidentiality agreement. In May 2018, the Qataris again strongly increased their shares in the company they now control fully; the founder Jean Galler, who for now remains a minority shareholder, has stepped down as leader to devote himself to creation and communication. Since 5 November 2018, the Qataris have officially been sole shareholders, but with a desire to maintain the Belgian anchorage. Galler chocolates are still produced in Vaux-sous-Chèvremont, where 170 persons work. In July 2020, 25% of the capital was sold to a group of Belgian investors wishing to pursue the development of the company while making it ethical and responsible. Among these commitments, since 2020 the company has been working with 100% fair trade certified cocoa beans. The logo was then changed to “Independent chocolate factory”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galler 1976 establishments in Belgium Belgian brands Belgian chocolate companies Food and drink companies established in 1976 Brand name chocolate Companies based in Liège Belgian Royal Warrant holders