Zotter Biography

Proprietor

· Josef Zotter, born 1961 in Feldbach, Austria.
· Married with three children.
· Qualified Chef and Confectioner
· Worked as Chef/Confectioner for a number of hotels, including the Hilton in Vienna and The Pierre in New York
· Set-up his own café/confectioners in Graz and grew to four outlets.

Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur

· Opening
· 1999 Josef Zotter opens his new venture in converted outbuilding on his parent’s farm.

· Growth
· 2000, The hand-scooped creations become a cult success
· The production area is expanded and the Running Chocolate Bar is added.

· Organic and FAIRTRADE
· Partner of FAIRTRADE Austria since 2004.
· From the 2006/07 season all raw materials will be sourced from controlled organic farming.

· Turnover
· Approximately 300 tons of cocoa are processed annually, which corresponds to approximately 6 million chocolate bars per year.
· The distribution is approximately 55% Austria & 45% overseas.
· Approximately 20 percent growth in turnover in 2006.

· Sales structure
· Approximately 3,500 retailers. Zotter does not sell to supermarkets and big chains in order to promote small and medium-sized businesses.
· In 2007 Zotter appoint Merchant Europe as their exclusive distributor in the UK. http://www.merchant-europe.co.uk
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· Awards
· In 2004 awarded the “Trophée Gourmet“ in the Gourmandise category for unusual products. Honoured as “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the trade category.
· In 2006 Zotter is awarded the “Trigos” prize for companies demonstrating social responsibility.
· Honoured is his commitment to the social sector with sponsored projects such as the “Setting an example” chocolate.
· In Perugia, Italy, Josef Zotter received the EUROCHOCOLATE AWARD 2006 as ”Best Foreign Chocolate Producer.

· Coming Next
· Josef Zotter is adding a cocoa roastery. This means that Josef will produce his chocolate starting from the cocoa bean, which will open new possibilities for further product varieties.
· The “Chocolate theatre” will open in August 2007, in time for the new chocolate season.