Xavier Declercq, the artisan chocolatier who founded Xocolate, is delighting gourmets in the capital who want to treat themselves more responsibly, with his 100% organic, fair-trade, home-made pralines.
After 33 years in various positions with Oxfam Solidarity, Xavier Declercq decided to radically reorientate his career. After a six-month break and a few training courses, he became an artisan chocolatier and now runs his own workshop-store, Xocolate, which opened in Schaerbeek at the end of 2018. ‘Before I took the plunge, I weighed up the pros and cons… and there were nothing but cons, so to speak’, he recalls. ‘After all, how could you imagine launching a successful business in such a sector, in a city and a country that are practically the chocolate capital of the world? The only thing that made me slightly different was that I wanted to develop a commercial activity based on the same values as those that were already driving me at Oxfam. This meant adopting an ethical stance throughout the chain, both socially and environmentally. That’s why I chose to work in a totally artisanal way, with products that respect the principles of fair trade and organic farming. However, this was also an additional source of anxiety, as it meant using ingredients that are logically much more expensive.’
‘Ethiquable’ chocolate
To make the more than 3 tonnes of pralines that make up his annual production, Xavier Declercq sources his couverture chocolate from Ethiquable (see our article on the cooperative). ‘The chocolate I work with is always the same. It is made by Ethiquable, in its French facilities, from cocoa beans purchased directly from the Haitian Feccano cooperative. I trust Ethiquable because not only have I known them for many years, but above all, I am in tune with their way of practising fair trade and I appreciate their transparency. Ethiquable does not put pressure on producers by constantly negotiating prices downwards. Its logic is not purely mercantile. Nor does the cooperative spend too much energy on a host of other initiatives. Its core business is trading, but trading fairly and ethically with producers. Its producer representatives don’t start by saying ‘If you do this, it’s $50 more, if you do that, it’s $25’. It’s much more transparent: the price is the price, and they let people work, sometimes providing expertise when necessary, but never as a compulsory or up-front condition. Another example of their professionalism: the best analyses I’ve read on the cocoa sector came from Ethiquable France. As well as chocolate, fillings are the other essential ingredient in pralines. And here again, Xavier Declercq applies the same ethical triptych. ‘Most of the fillings are made by me, but for some I’ve teamed up with ‘Potjes d’Eugène’, another small-scale producer who specialises in everything from salted butter caramel to walnut paste, and who of course respects the same standards and philosophy.
‘Still no legislation governing fair trade’
The Covid crisis, the energy crisis, the raw materials crisis, the purchasing power crisis, the cocoa crisis… With the exception of the first year, which was devoted to experimentation and the gradual launch of activities, the rest of Xocolate’s journey so far has been far from smooth. However, despite the difficulties and pitfalls, the small business is still going strong, which is a great achievement in itself, and has even been rewarded with the title of ‘Discovery of the Year 2022 for Belgium’ by Gault&Millau in the chocolate category. ‘If I’m surviving, it’s because I’m in a niche,’ says Xavier Declercq. ‘There aren’t that many of us producing artisanal, fair-trade and organic chocolate. These are three things that are, I think, quite important in the eyes of today’s public. But in addition to the successive crises of recent years and the economic challenges that characterise the sector, Xavier Declercq regrets that small ethical chocolate-makers still have to face many other difficulties. ‘First of all, the regulatory environment in Belgium is not good,’ he complains. ‘The regulator doesn’t organise anything, and makes no provision for more sustainable production, either environmentally or socially. Generally speaking, there is no provision for fair trade. We still have no legislation governing fair trade. And in 2024 there is still no specific tax niche for fair trade. This is a serious matter. In this respect, the political level bears a heavy responsibility, but it is not the only one to blame. For example, are Fair Trade organisations active enough in lobbying the Belgian authorities on these issues? The responsibility is certainly shared…’.
Another difficulty facing small craftspeople who claim to be ethical is how to raise awareness of the issue among consumers, whoever they may be. ‘There is a growing awareness among the general public, but price is still a barrier’, says Xavier Declercq. ‘My chocolate is more expensive than the general public’s, which doesn’t stop it being cheaper than some non-organic and non-Fair Trade products, but never mind. There is a growing awareness of the importance of respecting all the stages in the chain, but I don’t think that awareness is high enough. Of course, there’s the economic crisis, purchasing power, etc., there are all sorts of reasons for this. But at the end of the day, there simply aren’t enough people aware of the issue.’
‘The fair trade market absolutely has to grow’
More expensive labour, lower yields… Many of the reasons for the higher prices of fair trade and organic products are well known, but there are others that are less well known, as the founder of Xocolate is keen to point out. ‘For artisans, making organic products, for example, means extra work and costs to obtain certification, whereas those who are not organic just don’t have to do anything or spend any money. It’s just not right. And as far as producers are concerned, converting to organic or fair trade represents years of investment and work reorganisation, with a whole raft of criteria to meet, and all this comes at a cost. And then, and this is a very problematic point, you have to realise that these producers are often not even in a position to sell all their fair trade and/or organic production at fair trade or organic prices, for the simple reason that the sector is still not capable of absorbing all the production.’ In other words, this means that Fairtrade and organic prices are also being pushed up by the fact that they have to compensate for the share of production that has to be sold through conventional channels. ‘Hence the importance of promoting fair trade initiatives, raising awareness among organisations, public authorities, individual consumers and society as a whole, to make it clear that the ethical market absolutely must grow if it is to function as it should’, concludes Xavier Declercq.
Anthony Planus on behalf of Enabel’s Trade for Development Centre.
