Julia Zotter, Creative Director of Zotter Chocolate, was interviewed.

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We have a saying that you should never ask your consumer what they want since they will, of course, have no clue. A client, a consumer, or a passer-by can only tell you what they already know.

-Julia Zotter, Zotter Chocolate’s Creative Director

Zotter Chocolate has been producing confections in southwestern Austria since 1995. The family-owned and -run firm started experimenting with bean-to-bar chocolates in 2006, and theyve since grown to become one of the world’s leading handmade chocolate manufacturers. Julia Zotter grew up in the firm and is now its director of creative after working with them for numerous years in Shanghai.

Julia, a natural polyglot, talks frankly about how her family’s firm has grown so much in such a short amount of time while remaining committed to cacao growers and organic sourcing. Julia and I discuss the evolution of flavors at Zotter, as well as some of the bigger societal pulls for milk substitutes in chocolate, in this interview. I hope you liked listening to our talk as much as I did.

It’s worth noting that milk replacements in chocolate production were the subject of my conversation with Julia, which resulted in the audio episode The Growth of Milk Alternatives.

We cover the following topics:

• what factors have allow small-batch chocolate makers to enter the milk alternatives chocolate market so much more quickly than modern manufacturers
• why & how Zotter has differentiated itself from other craft chocolate makers or large chocolate manufacturers over the last few decades
• demand over time of the non-dairy line of Zotter Chocolates, both within Austria and around the world
• types of milk alternatives which have appeared on the scene in recent years, and various types of alternatives they’ve tried in the past
• the coffee industry’s groundwork in preparing people to accent non-dairy milks in other parts of their lives
• what she hopes non-vegans can still get out of non-dairy chocolates
• the potential effects of mass-market chocolate manufacturers using milk alternatives in their products
• recipe development and experimentation at Zotter, including a new line of bars
• defining & re-defining different types of chocolates

Contact Julia and Zotter Chocolate

Webpage of Zotter Chocolates.

Zotter Chocolate may be found on Instagram.

Zotter Chocolate has a Facebook page.

Contact Chocolate On The Road

@chocolateontheroad on Instagram

@chocolateontheroad on Facebook

Our show music is Phil Reavis’ Roadtrip, and our transition music is People Like Us’ Were Gonna Be Around and Lobo Loco’s Sweet Dreams.

Click here to listen to the previous episode.