An iconic Parisian house of fine chocolate, Chapon Chocolaterie has made a name for itself through a radical approach to the raw material and a sensory signature that is instantly recognizable. Founded in 1986 by Patrice Chapon, the brand is now entering a new phase of development under the leadership of Cédric Taravella, supported by the FrenchFood Capital fund. Balancing artisanal tradition with a growth strategy, the company continues its transformation without compromising its founding principles.
Cédric Taravella: Entrepreneurial Drive at the Service of Chapon
At the helm of Chapon Chocolaterie since 2022, Cédric Taravella embodies a new phase of development for the Parisian house. Having joined the company following its acquisition by FrenchFood Capital, he now oversees the growth strategy, operational structuring, and expansion of the brand, while preserving the artisanal standards that have built its reputation.
His approach is based on a clear balance: strengthening the brand’s presence in the premium chocolate segment while highlighting the uniqueness of its work with the cocoa bean. At his side, founder Patrice Chapon remains creative director, safeguarding the brand’s flavor identity and sensory heritage.
Combining entrepreneurial vision with respect for the craft, Cédric Taravella is guiding Chapon’s transformation into a contemporary chocolate house, where expertise, traceability, and the customer experience define the contours of sustainable gourmet luxury.
A visionary founder and a revolution in taste
The story of Maison Chapon begins with a simple yet bold conviction: to put the cocoa bean back at the heart of chocolate. From the very beginning, Patrice Chapon adopted an approach akin to that of culinary artisans, prioritizing the origin of raw materials, aromatic precision, and an almost oenological interpretation of chocolate.
This approach stands in stark contrast to the standards of traditional French chocolate-making, long dominated by blends and sweet recipes. At Chapon, chocolate becomes a tasting experience in its own right, where each origin reveals a unique flavor profile. The chocolate mousses, the House’s historic signature, embody this philosophy: a refined texture, a clean taste, and a direct expression of the cocoa.
Over the course of 40 years, the brand has built a strong identity, recognizable both for its understated aesthetic and its commitment to flavor. Far from ostentation, luxury at Chapon is expressed through accuracy, precision, and respect for the product.
An artisanal house transformed into a contemporary brand
While its artisanal DNA remains central, Chapon Chocolaterie has gradually evolved into a structured house, capable of meeting the expectations of a rapidly changing premium market. Today’s consumer no longer seeks merely a quality product: they expect a holistic experience, blending aesthetics, brand storytelling, and a commitment to traceability.
The company has thus developed a positioning that combines traditional craftsmanship with modernity. The boutiques, designed as tasting spaces, extend the sensory experience beyond the product itself. Chocolate is presented there as a living substance, whose nuances are slowly revealed.
This evolution is not a change of course, but a broadening of perspective. Craftsmanship is no longer merely a mode of production: it has become a cultural promise, a marker of identity in a gourmet luxury sector undergoing a complete transformation.
A new phase of development with FrenchFood Capital
The entry of FrenchFood Capital into the company’s capital marks a defining milestone in its history. Specializing in supporting premium food brands, the fund is backing Chapon Chocolaterie’s transformation into a Maison capable of combining artisanal excellence with strategic expansion.
This new dynamic aims to achieve several objectives: strengthening the brand’s visibility, structuring its development, and supporting its expansion, all while preserving what makes it unique. The model is based on a clear balance between creation and management, between heritage and future vision.
In this context, Cédric Taravella is steering the company’s growth strategy. His mission is to consolidate the economic foundations while respecting the brand’s gustatory and cultural identity. The continued presence of Patrice Chapon at the helm of creative direction ensures the brand’s artistic and sensory coherence, fostering a fruitful dialogue between entrepreneurial vision and artisanal craftsmanship.
This structure reflects a broader trend in the luxury food sector: Houses built on strong expertise are supported by specialized investors to reach a new stage of development.
Today, the brand has nineteen stores in the Île-de-France region, including eight in Paris, with a clear ambition: to reach twenty-two to twenty-three locations by the end of 2026. A gradual growth strategy that prioritizes premium locations and brand consistency.
The brand is also making its presence felt in iconic Parisian gastronomic venues, such as Galeries Lafayette Gourmet and La Grande Épicerie de Paris, boosting its visibility among local and international customers.
With revenue of approximately twelve million euros and nearly one hundred employees, split between the boutiques and the production workshop in Chelles, Chapon is scaling up while retaining its artisanal DNA. The focus is on the international market. Potential opportunities are being explored, particularly in Japan and the Middle East—markets with a strong affinity for premium chocolate—though no concrete plans have been finalized at this stage.
Chocolate as a Lifestyle Experience
Today, Chapon Chocolaterie is fully aligned with the evolution of chocolate into an experiential product. The act of tasting transcends the mere indulgence to become a moment of culture and lifestyle. The House explores this dimension through the presentation of its products, the selection of origins, and an educational approach to taste.
Chocolate is no longer merely consumed; it is interpreted. This contemporary interpretation of the product brings the chocolate house closer to the worlds of wine, fine dining, and culinary design. It helps redefine chocolate as a cultural object, a vehicle for emotions and storytelling.
By consolidating its foundations while affirming its ambition, Maison Chapon thus pursues a unique trajectory: that of an artisan who has become a brand, of expertise that has become a signature, of a product that has become an experience.
It is at this pivotal moment that our meeting with Cédric Taravella takes place, to discuss the vision, challenges, and future of a Maison that combines a commitment to taste with a development strategy. Interview.
LUXUS PLUS: When you took over as head of Chapon Chocolaterie, what were your strategic priorities and why?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: Firstly, we wanted to build a highly consistent and uncompromising brand based on the DNA we inherited, while adding our own touch—what we love and what we want to communicate to our customers. wanted to build a highly consistent and uncompromising brand based on the DNA we inherited, while adding our own touch—what we love and what we want to communicate to our customers.
Besides, we launched three major initiatives right from day one. First, establishing our brand platform and applying it to the store and the product. Second, to build a team around me to drive the company’s transformation and support the growth that is about to begin. Third, to quickly launch the first new products to create momentum around the company, both internally and with Chapon’s long-standing customers.
LUXUS PLUS: How does your managerial experience influence the way you work with the brand’s creative and artisanal teams?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: My entire professional career, starting with my studies at Saint-Cyr, has led me to manage teams of all sizes in many different contexts. When it comes to management, some things can be learned, but much is gained through experience and lived practice. You improve over time. My managerial experience has taught me that it is by managing with heart, by loving your teams, that you manage to gain their support, commitment, and bring out the best in them.
That is what I strive to do at Chapon. I work to unite everyone around my vision and my project, creating—as much as possible—the conditions for personal growth and initiative, and fostering a willingness to dedicate oneself to a shared goal.
LUXUS PLUS: How do you strike a balance between performance and signature style?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: Striking a balance between performance, growth, and preserving what defines Chapon’s DNA—or the brand’s signature—is indeed difficult to achieve. We have collectively set ourselves a single obsession: the quality of the chocolate we make here. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and refuse to seek productivity gains in the most critical stages of production, in order to maintain quality. We prefer to increase the number of teams and equipment—such as we have today, in the same sizes and dimensions, but which we master perfectly—rather than buying larger, more productive machines. For example, we have a 30-kg roaster to roast our cocoa beans. We do not give in to the temptation to buy a 100-kg roaster to work three times faster.
LUXUS PLUS: Chapon Chocolaterie has become a benchmark for fine chocolate. What vision guides its development today?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: At Chapon, our mission is to bring people together around a product that is both beautifully crafted and delicious. This means we strive to offer a product whose taste experience will reveal aspects of cocoa and chocolate you never knew existed, presented in boxes and packaging that live up to our promise. These products are meant to be shared and given as gifts among friends or family.
To fulfill this mission, we are constantly creating new products and new experiences. For example, we developed the concept of a chocolate mousse bar: when you walk into a Chapon store, you get to taste different mousses and discover the rich flavors our chocolates offer through this simple recipe. You can then leave with a serving bowl for 4 to 8 people and share this dessert—the favorite dessert of the French—during a good meal.
We strive to bring this mission to life as widely as possible. That is why we are opening stores offering the full Chapon experience in family-friendly areas, and we hope to expand Chapon internationally to reach all families.
LUXUS PLUS: How do you balance artisanal heritage with the demands of a contemporary gourmet luxury brand?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: Artisanal heritage is truly fundamental to the production of our products. It is very important for us to accept a less productive but very high-quality process for what will be decisive for Chapon’s quality and promise.
For example, we seek to source the most exceptional beans, even if that means sourcing them from small plantations that are hard to find and with whom we cannot establish a long-term contractual relationship for large volumes. We therefore work with a growing number of plantations rather than streamlining our operations.
Similarly, cocoa processing is done using the same machines that were developed over 20 years ago and which we have mastered perfectly—not to boost productivity, but to preserve the artisanal craftsmanship we’ve perfected.
An example: for all our chocolates, the end of the conching stage—a decisive step that refines the chocolate and allows all its aromas to emerge—is systematically determined through tasting. And not because a procedure tells us that after a specific amount of time, the recipe can be considered complete. We therefore maintain this expert assessment—which is unique to our House—at various key stages of our chocolate production.
LUXUS PLUS: In a highly competitive premium chocolate market, what are your main growth drivers today?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: Despite our premium positioning, we want to appeal to all generations and remain popular in the best sense of the word. We want to make chocolates that everyone can enjoy in a welcoming boutique setting. We are thus moving away from certain characteristics of luxury that can give the impression that chocolate shops cater exclusively to adults, with products “displayed” like jewelry in a jewelry store. We truly want to create a friendly, family-oriented experience that fosters strong loyalty to our products and brand.
Furthermore, because we want to be part of families’ daily lives, we develop products that fit into that routine. For example, a chocolate bar can be enjoyed at any time of year. The same goes for our chocolate mousse and ice cream offerings. We’ve created a whole range of popsicles featuring our products, in the spirit of being a chocolatier year-round.
LUXUS PLUS: Fine chocolate is becoming an experiential product. How do you approach the lifestyle aspect of the brand?
CEDRIC TARAVELLA: We aim to reach families and friends who appreciate fine products, who are willing to consume less but better. Food lovers and connoisseurs who don’t seek quantity but value quality and the craftsmanship behind the products.
In our stores, we strive to embody this mindset, this lifestyle, through our interactions with customers, the explanations we provide about our work, and the tasting experiences we offer them in-store.
For example, we regularly host free tasting sessions in our stores. We gather about ten customers and invite them to discover a cocoa-producing region for which we have 4 to 5 bars, or a chocolate that we’ve crafted into various forms: bars, ganaches, chocolate mousse, ice cream, etc. The goal is to educate, in a fun way, those interested in the entire process and richness of chocolate.
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Featured photo : portrait of Cédric Taravella © Chapon Chocolaterie
