When mentioning chocolate, a true chocolate connoisseur mentally transports themselves to Italy. If decadent chocolate is your go-to candy option, push yourself beyond the convenient drugstore option. Not every chocolate is created equal so here are 5 Italian chocolate brands to look for to involve all of your senses:
Venchi
Venchi is a chocolate brand straddling the line between artisanal and industrial products because of its excellent quality. The history of this Piedmontese brand begins in 1878 with Silvano Venchi who started out with a small chocolate shop. Today, the brand produces about 350 types of chocolate and exports it globally. Venchi made a name for itself thanks to the production of one of its most identifiable products: the “Nougatine”, a bonbon made of rigorously chopped, caramelized, and covered with extra-dark chocolate.
Ferrero
Ferrero, founded by Pietro Ferrero in 1946, has built up a reputation over the years to be among the most famous brands in the world. Among its best-sellers, “Nutella”, the chocolate hazelnut spread, has become part of the everyday life of families in Italy and abroad. Ferrero Rocher is said to be the best-selling brand in the world, with millions of people having bought it. Ferrero Rocher chocolates are wrapped in gold foil, making them an ideal gift.
Guido Castagna
Guido Castagna is also among the Italian excellences, awarded for 6 consecutive years at the International Chocolate Awards. This Turin-based company stands out for the meticulous attention to detail in the manufacturing process - from the selection of the cocoa beans, to the arrival in the laboratory, where the slow process of tradition is performed. Among its most famous products are truffles, “bassinati” and, above all, “cremini”, with two layers of gianduja and a filling of hazelnut paste.
Novi
Among the best Italian brands of industrial chocolate is certainly Novi. After more than 100 years of history, Novi maintains its success by continuing its production in three factories. It was founded in 1903 in Piemonte and the company produces 80 million bars and 200 million chocolates every year. For Novi, the secret of its success is found in the choice of high quality raw materials. The chocolate brand produces excellent quality spreads, with the best chocolate from the company and the freshest hazelnuts. Among these is the “Nocciolato Novi”, which comes from the combination of pure chocolate and whole hazelnuts from the Piedmont hills.
Slitti
Slitti was originally founded as a coffee roasting company in 1969 and is one of the best-known and most appreciated artisan chocolate shops in the world. Andrea Slitti emerged from a deep knowledge of coffee to create perfect chocolate, balanced and flavored. The cocoa beans of Slitti chocolate give life to high-quality chocolate bars. For some time now, the chocolate shop in the province of Pistoia, in Tuscany, known as the Chocolate Valley, has not used African cocoa because it considers the quality of Central American cocoa to be superior.
Arianna DiCicco
Arianna DiCicco is an educator and writer from California, born into an Italian American restaurant family with strong ties to her grandparents’ home in Abruzzo, Italy. She has lived in San Francisco, Rome and New York City where she’s made deep connections within the Italian communities and gained new perspectives about her own culture. With a Masters in International Education, Arianna has a love and passion for learning and educating others about Italian history & culture.