Rosali Sambar, the famous Belgian premium chocolate produced in Georgia, is going to open three branded stores in Georgia – one in the capital city Tbilisi, another in the Black Sea resort town of Batumi, and the third in the western city of Kutaisi.
“In order to meet the growing demand on the market, having just one branded store is not enough. With the increase in tourism flow we are thinking of expanding further and opening new branches in tourist hotspots this year,” said the Director of Rosali Sambar, David Mindiashvili.
Besides its branded store, Rosali Sambar chocolates can be found at the hypermarket Goodwill, the supermarket Fresco, and alcoholic beverage stores Whisky House and Alcorium.
Rosali Sambar has been operating on the Georgian market for 14 years already and is famous for its high quality chocolates. Over the years Rosali Sambar has established itself as one of the leading, most competitive, and premium segment companies on the Georgian market.
While other chocolate producers use other vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter, its Belgian chocolate is made with 100% cocoa. One of the world’s largest cocoa producers and grinders ‘Barry Callebaut’ supplies Rosali Sambar with its raw materials, which are later turned into handmade chocolates at the Rosali Sambar factory in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
Rosali Sambar offers chocolates in a variety of shapes, weights, and sizes. For example children’s chocolate, festive chocolates for New Year, Easter, etc. In addition, Rosali produces different types of chocolate – black, white, milk and diabetic.
“Until 2018 our company was only presented on the market with pure chocolate products. However, last year we made the decision to focus on other directions and make our products more diverse. We started the production of filled chocolate, and chocolates with dried fruit. Our new production (filled chocolate) must be of sufficiently high quality which is why we decided to purchase raw materials from our supplier Barry Callebaut. This is truly a guarantee of quality,” Mindiashvili said.
As of today Rosali Sambar produces seven types of chocolate: two sorts of dark chocolate (53% and 75%), milk chocolate, while chocolate, filled chocolate, and chocolate with dried fruit.
Q. Rosali Sambar is a premium segment chocolate brand and accordingly the prices for its products are higher. How ready was the Georgian market for premium segment chocolate products?
A. It is not easy to operate in a country like Georgia, by that I mean a developing country. We understood this challenge from the very beginning, when we first founded the company. We hoped that over the years the economic situation would improve in Georgia and the solvency rate of its population would increase. Our hopes were partly realized and as of today sales of Rosali Sambar chocolates are three times greater when compared to the very first years.
Nowadays, customers are mostly focused on quality rather than price.
Q. Do you export Rosali Sambar chocolates and if so, where to?
A. In 2008-2014 our company was exporting chocolate to Azerbaijan. Due to certain reasons the export of Rosali Sambar chocolates has been suspended and we currently supply only the local market.
However, we are working on new plans. Our goal is to introduce the taste of Rosali Sambar chocolate to as many people as possible. We are interested in exporting our chocolate to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Q. How competitive is the market and what is Rosali Sambar’s competitive advantage?
A. Overall the chocolate market is quite competitive in Georgia. Various chocolates are produced as well as imported in the country. But as for our niche segment, there isn’t big competition. There are only a few companies working in the premium chocolate segment.
The Georgian market is also developing and the number of customers opting for premium segment chocolates is also on the rise.
Our great wish is for the market to continue to grow and deliver the most delicious tasting chocolate to customers.
As you know, Rosali Sambar has been operating on the Georgian market for 14 years. When we started our activities premium segment chocolate did not exist on the Georgian market. Over the years, the quality of chocolate gradually increased in Georgia and as of today the Georgian market is in the middle phase in terms of the average quality of the chocolate.
Q. Congratulations on winning a Golden Brand award. This was the first Golden Brand win for Rosali Sambar. What’s your impression – what led Rosali Sambar to this success?
A. This is our first Golden Brand win and therefore a big achievement for our company. Thank you for your trust and support.
I think Rosali Sambar deserved the interest of experts as it chose the right direction from the very beginning: offering customers the highest quality chocolate.
Golden Brand has been a big stimulus for us. The team of Rosali Sambar will continue to work with greater motivation and commitment as a result.
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