The European Candy Kettle Club has named the 2019 winner of the European Candy Kettle Award — Austria-based Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH, run by Josef Zotter.

The blue-ocean approach encourages entrepreneurs to create uncontested market space instead of competing in "red oceans," where there's likely to be plenty of blood in the water. It's a strategy that Jan Kolański, president of the Colian Group, has embraced and evolved .

It’s impossible to discuss the evolution of French chocolate in the 20^th century without mentioning Guy Urbain, the man who for more than seven decades dedicated his life to advancing not only French chocolate, but sweet gastronomy globally.

Colian Group's ongoing investments and targeted acquisitions had caught the eye of the European Candy Kettle Club — our Candy Industry Kettle Committee equivalent across the pond — who, in turn, nominated Jan Kolański, president of the Colian Group, for the coveted ECKC award in 2017.