Leonidas

Is a Belgian chocolate company that produces chocolate and other related products. The company was started in 1913 by Greek-American confectioner Leonidas Kestekides in Brussels although he first began producing his chocolate in the U.S. Even so, according to author and editor Mort Rosenblum, Leonidas chocolate is “real Belgian chocolate, fairly priced, and plenty of people like it.” Its maintenance has been passed down through Leonidas Kestelides’ descendants over the years. Leonidas has 350 shops in Belgium and nearly 1,250 stores in around 50 countries including 340 in France. Leonidas has become one of the highest producing, widespread chocolate companies in the world.

Brussels is considered the “chocolate capital of the world” because it is home to more chocolate factories than any other city on earth. The well-known chocolate makers of Brussels have worked at their trade for over a century. Cocoa beans first entered Europe in the late 16th century when Spanish explorers brought them back from Mexico; it took a century for them to reach Belgium. Belgian chocolate started building its impressive reputation in the late 1800s when King Leopold II harvested cocoa crops in the colonized African Congo. In 1920, Cappadocian Greek American confectioner Leonidas Kestelides (or Kestekidis) founded the Leonidas chocolate brand after marrying Joanna Teerlinck, a young lady from Brussels.

He first came to Belgium to attend the Brussels Universal Exhibition at the Brussels World Fair of 1910 as a member of the Greek delegation from the United States. He presented his chocolate at the fair and won a bronze medal. In 1913, he opened a tea room in Ghent. In 1924, Leonidas opened Pâtisserie Centrale, a tea-room on Rue Paul Delvaux in Brussels.

His successor Basilio opened his own workshop at 58 Boulevard Anspach; Leonidas’ business was growing rapidly in size and popularity. In 1935, Basilio turned his workshop into a shop after being accused by the police of street trading. An exponential growth period began in 1950 while Basilio opened a Laboratory of Chocolates at 20 Vieux Marché aux Grains. He also opened a tea-room in Blankenberge. The first store outside Belgium opened in Lille, France in 1969. The brand eventually goes international selling in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Holland, at Harrods in London and even in Athens. The New York store opened in 1991.

Name and Symbol

In 1937, Basilio protects his product with the brand and logo of Leonidas. The company was named after its founder.

More specifically, the name and design of the symbol originate from the marble statue in the Sparta Museum entitled Leonidas, in which the Greek hero-king of Sparta is depicted. The tone of the physical appearance of the boxed chocolate was described as “no nonsense packaging with a daunting logo. The symbol serves as evidence that indeed Spartan myth is a key element in European and Western culture traditions.