Ghraoui Chocolate

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Ghraoui Chocolate is a privately held chocolate maker with roots in Damascus, founded in 1805 by the Ghraoui family. Today it is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, and serves customers worldwide. The company began in Damascus and linked with Syria’s first large-scale fruit and vegetable canning firm, helping it grow across Europe and America. In 1931, Ghraoui was the first to introduce chocolate to the Middle East. A French chocolatier helped craft its high-quality sweets. During the 1930s and 1940s, Ghraoui earned the title Purveyor to Her Majesty, the Queen of England, and its products were stocked in luxury shops such as Paris’s Fauchon and Hédiard, and London’s Fortnum & Mason and Harrods. The brand is known for its orange factory machinery and packaging, including its bags and delivery vans. The Syrian civil war forced a shutdown, but Ghraoui relaunched in 2017 from Budapest. The company has received many awards for quality, including medals from Paris to New York. Notably, it won a Médaille d’Argent at Beirut in 1921, an Honneur in 1931, a Médaille d’Or in Paris in 1939, and an Honneur in New York in 1939. In 2005, its Orangettes won the Prix d’Honneur at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Today Ghraoui operates seven boutiques worldwide.