Camille Bloch completed his apprenticeship at Chocolat Tobler AG (today Toblerone) in Bern and later would become a sales agent for the firm. In 1926 Camille Bloch founded his company “Chocolats et Bonbons fins Camille Bloch” and in 1929 he registered his business as a limited company in the Berne commercial registry. Up until now he was buying chocolate paste from a supplier, however, he now wants to undertake the processing of his chocolate from the cocoa bean to roasting, grinding and mixing. In 1934, he looks around for more space and machinery to undertake the whole process. He buys the premises of a dilapidated paper factory in Courtlary in the Bernese Jura region and machinery from AW Lindt in Bern which was closing down.

By 1935, with his son Rolf, the new Cocolats Camille Bloch SA factory starts production in March with eight workers and by the end of the year has thirty six employees. With the beginning of World War II, Camille Bloch like all other European manufacturers of chocolate was faced with a shortage in basic raw materials and cocoa beans. Chocolate manufacturers tried many ways to make their chocolate go further, such as adding nuts and fruits to their bars. Camille Bloch would replace the chocolate mass with hazelnut mass, a smooth praline paste made from hazelnuts, whose supply was not interrupted. This created Ragusa and Torino, born of necessity; Rugusa with its dark chocolate covered whole hazelnut and Torino with its hazelnut praline center. Today they account for 30% of total production.

In his father’s footsteps, it was Rolf Bloch who steered the firm from the 1950s onwards, through all the lows and highs of employee shortages and consumer booms. How has a small family owned firm managed to survive and grow in a highly competitive market dominated by huge giants? Current the grandchildren of Camille Bloch, Daniel Bloch (CEO) and Stephanie Bloch (Marketing Director), pin it down to two things quality and specialization. By buying the highest quality cocoa beans and exercising quality control in all stages of manufacturing, Daniel Bloch emphasizes that the company can guarantee quality and consistency. The focus is on special niche products with only the highest quality.

Twice a year Camille Bloch produces Kosher chocolate, which is 5% of its sales, with half of the chocolate going to the US and the other half going to Europe and Israel. What makes Kosher chocolate is the production stages and source of raw ingredients; right through to the end product they all meet the rabbinical standards of food hygiene.

Towards the future, Camille Bloch feels that countries in the European Union, like France, Italy, Germany and the US with similar chocolate consumption patterns and good purchasing power offer the best growth for the company. Daniel Bloch states that whether their children will follow them into the family business remains to be seen, however, they like chocolate and that’s a start.