The well-known Belgian premium chocolate brand Rosali Sambar is working to export its chocolates to Azerbaijan from Georgia, where they are produced.
Director of Rosali Sambar David Mindiashvili says that currently negotiations are underway with ‘one of the largest companies in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.’
“As soon as the negotiation is over, it will be possible to see Rosali Sambar chocolate in Azerbaijan in the coming months. Our goal is to introduce the taste of Rosali Sambar chocolate to as many people as possible”, Mindiashvili said.
In addition, the company plans to add new chocolate flavors to its lineup, which are popular in Europe and the United States.
“For example, different types of chocolates with salt, pepper and other flavors”, said Mindiashvili.
Rosali Sambar has been operating on the Georgian market for 15 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, this Belgian chocolate is made with 100 per cent 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 for diabetics.
“Until 2018 our company was only represented on the market with pure chocolate products. However, 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 filled chocolates are 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, amongst which are two kinds of dark chocolates (53% and 75%), milk chocolate, white chocolate, filled chocolate and chocolate with dried fruit.
Rosali Sambar was going to open three branded stores in Georgia – one in Tbilisi, another in Batumi, and the third in Kutaisi. How have you fulfilled this plan?
Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the opening of new stores has been temporarily postponed, but we plan to continue to work on this project in the near future, by the end of this year.
Rosali Sambar offers its customers the possibility of creating chocolates and wrappings with custom designs. How in-demand is this service?
Yes, this is one of the services our company offers customers. We are the only company on the market to offer a similar service and accordingly the demand is quite high. Our corporate clients often put their logos on the chocolate.
Rosali Sambar cooperates with different large companies such as TBC, Ryanair, Tsinandali Museum … how has the number of corporate clients increased in 2019 compared to the previous year?
Last year we established business relations with many large companies and the corporate sales direction of the company developed quite well that year: the company experienced 10 per cent growth in sales.
The reason why large companies cooperate with us is that we offer the highest quality chocolate, the quality of which has remained the same during these 15 years of existence on the market.
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?
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.
How competitive is the market and what is Rosali Sambar’s competitive advantage?
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.
Congratulations on winning a Golden Brand award. What is your impression of what led Rosali Sambar to this success?
This is our second 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.
Discussion about this post