In 1913, Leonidas Kestekides opened a tearoom in the Belgian city of Ghent. The ambitious young Greek-American delighted visitors with his sweet creations, in particular his luxurious chocolate pralines. It was these little treats that would go on to shape the future of Kestekides and his family.
From Ghent, Leonidas soon moved to Brussels, opening another tea room and bringing on board his nephew Basilio. When Basilio opened a modest chocolate shop on Boulevard Anspach in Brussels, Leonidas as we know it was born.
Four generations and more than a century after Leonidas made his first pralines, his eponymous company has evolved into one of the most well-known – and most successful – chocolate makers in the world.
Leonidas Belgian chocolates can be found in over 1,300 stores worldwide. The range includes more than 100 different pralines, each made from 100% pure cocoa butter and high-quality natural ingredients. The company prides itself on its ability to deliver excellence in terms of taste, quality and freshness while maintaining an accessible price point.
Last February the board – who also happen to be the fourth generation of the Kestekides family – appointed Philippe de Selliers as CEO.
De Selliers began his career as a sales representative. Six years at Mars were followed by more than 16 at Coca-Cola, where he eventually took the role of Vice President Field Sales & Logistics Belgium-Luxemburg.
From there he moved to Van Marcke, becoming COO of the specialist wholesaler – a market leader in Belgium.
Two years ago, he says, he was considering a change. It might be nice, he thought, to spend a few years somewhere hot. Somewhere with beautiful beaches and a slower pace of life.
But a call from Leonidas changed all that. CEO of a prestigious international company, brimming with heritage and potential? That, says de Selliers, was an opportunity he could not turn down.
A little over 18 months into his tenure, Philippe de Selliers sat down with The Moodie Davitt Report to talk business philosophy, travel retail expansion, and why making people happy will always be a priority for Leonidas.
On thinking long-term and the benefits of being a family company.
Leonidas is a family company, it’s more than 100 years old and the three shareholders are the fourth generation. And that’s a really fantastic thing because you have a real heritage and culture that is driving the company.
We have to find the right balance between keeping that culture and heritage but also bringing in processes and managerial techniques from more international companies, creating a mix between the two.
We can really think about long-term business in a family company, which is probably less the case for publicly listed businesses because there, quarter by quarter you have to deliver the figures, and sometimes you do stupid things just to deliver the figures at the end of the quarter.
For us it’s something different. For sure we have to deliver but nevertheless the shareholders understand that sometimes you need some time to develop different and new things. They have a really long-term vision.
I’ve been CEO now for 18 months, and one of my first questions was, how do they see the business in the future? And they really hired me to develop the business for the long term with a team that will be prepared also for the long term.
In 18 months, I’ve recruited probably 20 people into management to make sure we will not change from one direction to another in two seconds because the CEO is changing. We are really creating a structure for the future and for the long term.
I have received a heritage. And I and my team want to create something to give to somebody else after us, something a little bit better than what we have received.
“Belgian chocolate is the reference, we want to remain the reference, and to do that we have to ensure that we are sustainable and fair trade.”
On Belgian chocolate.
When it comes to making Belgian chocolate, Leonidas is really strict with everything it does. We make 100% of our product in Belgium using knowledge passed down in Belgium for years and years. If we build a new factory it will be in Belgium, even if in other countries the people would be less expensive. That’s not what we want – we want to be really top quality.
We also want to work with other chocolatiers to see how we can protect what we are doing today, the Belgian Chocolate ‘brand’, I would say, because actually it’s a really strong brand.
We want to be more sustainable. That is something we are talking about that in our association, CHOPRABISCO [The Belgian Royal Association of the Chocolate, Praline, Biscuits and Sugar Confectionery Industry].
We want to be the first who are really focused on sustainable, fair trade to make sure that Belgian chocolate – which is probably the best, and certainly a reference in the market – is the first also in sustainability. We are the reference, we want to remain the reference, and to do that we have to go in this direction to ensure that we are sustainable and fair trade.
On his personal business philosophy.
I would say I am a social capitalist. I have evolved throughout my life. I think capitalism is important. Shareholders are taking risks with their money, even if it is a family business; they are the law of the company and we have to give them back quite a bit of money.
But I don’t believe a business is sustainable if it’s not giving happiness to the people who are working in the company. That for me is super important. And honestly, in our ‘mission, vision and values’ my first priority is to be sure that the people working for the company believe in us.
“You can live without eating one single chocolate in your life. You will not die. You eat chocolate just to have happiness.”
On moments of happiness.
The Leonidas concept of ‘moments of happiness’ is not just about the pleasure of chocolate. Thousands of people are depending on the way we do business at Leonidas. And we have to give them happiness on a daily basis. If they are happy, and every day a little bit happier than the day before, they will be able to bring happiness to the consumer also.
Moments of happiness for all: that’s all our people, that’s all consumers. Not just when you are eating chocolate, but at every stage, from production to advertising, to coming into the store, all the time we try to make people happy.
You can live without eating one single chocolate in your life. You will not die. You eat chocolate just to have happiness, so when you are going in the Leonidas shop I hope people will give you advice, let you taste and smell; I hope you will have a nice feeling in a nice shop and that’s all a fantastic moment of happiness.
I started my career as a sales representative in shopping malls and sometimes I just stopped at three o’clock in the afternoon because I wanted to eat two or three chocolates, and I stopped in the Leonidas shop – even then – and to walk around and to eat two or three chocolates? That was happiness.
I mean, just eating one chocolate can be a moment of happiness. And that’s what we have to do. And to do that we have to be happy. Because it’s quite difficult to give happiness if you are not happy yourself.
“I don’t believe we will make something really good in an office. It will be through business in the field, interaction with the consumer, that you will feel how you have to make business.”
On the local vs the international.
Our factory is in Belgium and will stay in Belgium. Our headquarters is in Belgium. Our knowledge, Belgian.
Nevertheless, the world is big, and I don’t believe that we can make business only from Brussels. If you want to sell in China you have to understand how they think, what they expect, what they want, and how we can bring them this happiness, and so on. That’s the reason why I’m travelling a lot. I take my Belgian knowledge and my Belgian background, but I’m open to what people want.
We now have staff in Asia, in the US, we are looking for staff in Germany, also in the UK. People in their country. They have to live in the country, they have to feel the country, they have to understand the country, they have to read the newspaper in the country, just to know what is happening there.
I truly don’t believe that we will make something really good in an office. It will be through business in the field, interaction with the consumer, that you will feel how you have to make business.
We won’t lose our Belgian chocolate and we won’t lose our Belgian background and history, but nevertheless we have to adapt to the local market. That’s the balance we need to find.
On the past year’s results.
As a company, we had a fantastic year globally. We made a profit of +60% last year, that’s really a big result. And we are good on volume, revenue…
We have almost doubled the marketing budget, saving elsewhere on production costs and product losses.
In travel retail we have grown +20% in volume. How have we done that? First of all, we understand more and more that we have to develop a product or range or box exclusive to travel retail. That’s something that is really important and that’s what we are doing now.
On the other side, to sell it we have to have the sales team. This year we have recruited one person for travel retail EMEA and one person for our Asian travel retail business. We have covered some white spots and we have some more we have to cover. That’s a major challenge for us.
On sampling.
I believe more than ever that the way to promote our product is sampling. I am so confident about the quality of our product and the price – the quality is so high and the price is so affordable – that actually the best way to do it is sampling.
We are planning huge sampling activities in travel retail but also in Belgium and France and all the countries where we are present. We are developing really big things. You’ll see that soon.
It’s a challenge, you know, to have such a good product at such an affordable price. People think that it won’t be such good quality because it’s such a good price. No.
There are two reasons we are able to do it at this price. First of all, we are really serious about cutting costs and losses. I hate to lose money. I like to invest money but I hate to lose money. And secondly, the shareholders love their company. They don’t just want to make a lot of money. They want to make a lot of people happy. So that is why they say, OK, let’s not increase the price.
But we have to prove to everyone that actually our chocolate is super top quality. And that is the reason why we have to let them taste. Taste and taste.
I’ve done that with all the team… from the office, the warehouse, the factory… we did it last year and we’ll do it again. We have had all of us with Leonidas jackets in the street giving out samples, because you feel the consumer in this moment. And honestly it was incredible, probably in one day we gave out 30,000-40,000 eggs for the Easter holidays. And the reaction of the people is incredible.
It’s a loved brand, a really loved brand, we know that. And all the people say, when they eat it, “wow, that’s so good”. Everybody knows us, but some are not eating or buying us every month, so we need to remind them how good it is.
That’s what we will do, and in travel retail also, because in some countries we are less known than in Belgium for sure, and so we have to let them taste the fantastic product we are selling.
On the importance of travel retail.
Travel retail is super important for us. That’s the reason why we are investing a lot of money and a lot of people. Super important for different reasons.
First of all: business. It’s a big business.
Secondly, it’s the image. Everyone is travelling now so if you can be seen by so many millions or even billions of people in the world, that’s important for us.
“Each time we introduce our product, it creates an added value for the category. And that’s what I want – I don’t want to just sell, I want to become a category partner. Because the category is able to do much more than it’s doing now.”
We are quite new in this business. We only entered the category six or seven years ago. It’s not as though we have been here for 30 years, so we are behind a lot of different competitors that were there in the market for years and years. We have to convince, day after day, that we can be an added value.
Because what is interesting is that we are always an added value for the retailer who introduces us. Each time we introduce our product, it creates an added value for the category. And that’s what I want – I don’t want to just sell, I want to become a category partner. Because the category is able to do much more than it’s doing now.
We are the number one Belgian chocolatier in Belgium. In travel retail, we are not number one, but nevertheless each time we are introduced we are always creating new value for the category. No cannibalisation. And for one single reason: we are offering something that doesn’t exist in the market.
On premium chocolate at affordable prices.
I believe we are the only brand offering premium chocolate at an affordable price. You know, you have all the other premium chocolates, which are really expensive. And on the other side you have chocolates which are, I mean, not cheap, but chocolates that are not sophisticated, and they are probably not 100% pure cacao butter and all these things.
So we are the only one there. Which is fantastic. But also difficult to position and to advertise. If you compare how other products are advertised, you have the super-premium chocolate brands speaking only about chocolate, you don’t have emotion: that is pure chocolate.
And the other, the chocolate that’s not really chocolate, they are only making advertising about fun atmosphere, but they are not talking about chocolate. Sometimes you can only tell from the packaging whether there’s chocolate inside, and sometimes you’re not even sure then.
And we are in the middle. And that’s quite difficult because our aim is to speak about our chocolate, but with fun. Because people, normal people, are happy to have fun. We have to speak their language, mass retail, but with the top quality of premium chocolate. That’s quite difficult in advertising.
We can offer premium chocolates with advertising that says, ‘fun, fun, fun’. This is the balance we have to find, and we are unique on this.
That’s the reason why I believe we have a huge potential in travel retail. You know 30, 40 years ago only really rich people were travelling. Now everybody is able to travel. And the middle classes are smart guys, you know? They want to know what they’re buying for what price. We’re a great company and we have a huge potential.
