Lluc Crusellas, hailed as the best chocolatier in the world after winning the World Chocolate Master in 2022, is determined to make high-quality cocoa beans into a familiar and accessible product. Thus, the brand Eukarya was born, a name derived from the cells that form cocoa: eukaryotes. “I felt that, after winning the competition, I had to bring pastry and chocolate culture to the streets,” shares the 27-year-old entrepreneur.
In a 700-square-meter workshop he has set up in Vic, the capital of the Osona region (Barcelona), Crusellas has devised up to 45 preparations with cocoa as the main ingredient. He transforms chocolate into bars, spheres, or creams, and for Christmas, he has launched a line of nougat and panettones. He emphasizes that his intention is to make a premium product accessible with prices that are within reach of many pockets. The cheapest chocolate bar is sold for 3.90 euros on his website, while the most expensive product is a box of twenty chocolates priced at around 31 euros.
He started the business nine months ago with an initial investment of one million euros, which he accessed through financing and a partnership with Pavic, a Catalan pastry company. Currently, he has seven workers in the production area and one in the store located on the same premises in Vic, which has been open to the public since November 14th. Several of the products produced by the brand are also distributed at Casa Atmetller and in various pop-up stores that occasionally open in Barcelona or abroad, such as in the Harrods department stores in London.
“If people want to try a nougat with puffed rice and the highest quality nuts and then want to buy a simple nougat with a lot of sugar, let them buy it, but they should first know what is good,” he explains. At the same time, he announces that in January, he will have five more desserts in the catalog that will replace the Christmas ones. “My philosophy is to make a product that is not complicated in terms of flavor and is well executed,” he specifies. The company focuses on online sales and maintains that it can distribute its products throughout Europe. It expects to generate revenues of 600,000 euros to close the season, although it does not expect to see profits until the next fiscal year.
“In the end, a nine-euro bar is not accessible to the general public. We want, for example, buying chocolates to become an everyday possibility and not just for the weekend or as a gift,” he concludes. He bids farewell and returns to work. His free time is dedicated to cycling, where he admits to having found the strength and discipline to carry out the project, which he still admires for the speed with which it has risen. “It’s been crazy,” he concludes.
Crafting Premium Chocolate for Everyone: The Story of Eukarya
Lluc Crusellas, hailed as the best chocolatier in the world after winning the World Chocolate Master in 2022, is determined to make high-quality cocoa beans into a familiar and accessible product. Thus, the brand Eukarya was born, a name derived from the cells that form cocoa: eukaryotes. “I felt that, after winning the competition, I had to bring pastry and chocolate culture to the streets,” shares the 27-year-old entrepreneur.
In a 700-square-meter workshop he has set up in Vic, the capital of the Osona region (Barcelona), Crusellas has devised up to 45 preparations with cocoa as the main ingredient. He transforms chocolate into bars, spheres, or creams, and for Christmas, he has launched a line of nougat and panettones. He emphasizes that his intention is to make a premium product accessible with prices that are within reach of many pockets. The cheapest chocolate bar is sold for 3.90 euros on his website, while the most expensive product is a box of twenty chocolates priced at around 31 euros.
He started the business nine months ago with an initial investment of one million euros, which he accessed through financing and a partnership with Pavic, a Catalan pastry company. Currently, he has seven workers in the production area and one in the store located on the same premises in Vic, which has been open to the public since November 14th. Several of the products produced by the brand are also distributed at Casa Atmetller and in various pop-up stores that occasionally open in Barcelona or abroad, such as in the Harrods department stores in London.
“If people want to try a nougat with puffed rice and the highest quality nuts and then want to buy a simple nougat with a lot of sugar, let them buy it, but they should first know what is good,” he explains. At the same time, he announces that in January, he will have five more desserts in the catalog that will replace the Christmas ones. “My philosophy is to make a product that is not complicated in terms of flavor and is well executed,” he specifies. The company focuses on online sales and maintains that it can distribute its products throughout Europe. It expects to generate revenues of 600,000 euros to close the season, although it does not expect to see profits until the next fiscal year.
“In the end, a nine-euro bar is not accessible to the general public. We want, for example, buying chocolates to become an everyday possibility and not just for the weekend or as a gift,” he concludes. He bids farewell and returns to work. His free time is dedicated to cycling, where he admits to having found the strength and discipline to carry out the project, which he still admires for the speed with which it has risen. “It’s been crazy,” he concludes.