How does happiness get into chocolate?

The Chocolarium in Flawil of the manufacturer Maestrani has been open since the beginning of April.The Chocolarium is the centerpiece of an extension and is intended to serve as a spectacular visitor center. During a tour, visitors learn more about the processes involved in chocolate production. In two special cinemas, they first watch a film, then enter the so-called raw materials room and pass through an 80-meter-long glass gallery where they can look into the heart of production.Interactivity, sensuality, emotionality and interesting facts characterize the tour, which answers the visitor's question of how happiness gets into chocolate.The happiness factoryCompany founder Aquilino Maestrani said as early as 1852: "Anyone who looks at the world through the eyes of a chocolate lover recognizes true beauty and happiness." For Markus Vettiger, CEO of Maestrani, this statement is central: "From this we have derived the goal for Maestrani's Chocolarium. We are the chocolate factory of happiness in eastern Switzerland," he says, emphasizing the leitmotif and referring to the outer shell of the new building, which symbolizes the flow of chocolate.

During an interactive tour, visitors experience how happiness gets into chocolate.New tourist attraction, also for corporate events"But there are also economic considerations behind the visitor center," says Markus Vettiger, "we want to be a new tourist attraction in eastern Switzerland. Attractive events are held at the Chocolarium throughout the year. And: "The Chocolarium is also an attractive place for companies," says Markus Vettiger. Thanks to its proximity to the highway and good public transportation, the Flawil location has excellent transport connections.Brand experience with wow effectHow can an SME make itself heard? "We have to make a wow effect for the visitors," Maestrani Chairman of the Board Randolf Hanslin answered his rhetorical question. To achieve this, the Cologne-based agency Simple was able to create an unusual brand experience on an area of 2,000 square meters.The agency's team, led by Swiss Managing Director Andreas Salsamendi, worked for four years on the development and realization of the brand story and scenography.Unlike other visitor centers of chocolate manufacturers, which mostly present themselves as craft businesses, the aim of the new staging was to create an emotional brand experience with the equal representation of the three brands Minor, Munz and Maestrani as a brand family.Happiness sluice and happiness laboratoryThe experience begins with a film in which a happiness researcher discusses the question of happiness. In fantastically designed exhibition rooms, visitors immerse themselves in the color and experience worlds of chocolate and happiness. They pass through a happiness sluice and experience the happiness laboratory. Sometimes chocolate seems to drip onto your head, sometimes you feel as if you are wrapped in gold paper and interactively experience how a smile awakens feelings of happiness.An app with 3-D soundThe impressive experiences are enhanced by music composed especially for the Chocolarium and recorded by the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and by special audio guides with 3-D sound that can be downloaded as an app onto smartphones.The highlight for young visitors is a special children's track that guides them through the exhibition at eye level. The Swiss children's book character "Globi" helps them discover hidden peep tubes, interactive games and short audio pieces.Maestrani Schweizer Schokoladen AG has invested a total of 10 million Swiss francs in the new, extraordinary brand experience, which is rounded off by a large chocolate store and a cafeteria. Maestrani now employs 25 people to run the Chocolarium.