“Our flexibility has allowed us to address the tariff in the US in a way that has had the least impact possible”
Isabel Sánchez Ruiz is CEO of Delaviuda Confectionery Group since January 2022, after having previously been through the legal advice, the general secretary and the general Corporate, Communication and People management of the family group that, In 2027, it will celebrate its first century of life. Sánchez is the first person outside the founding family, the López Rojas, to lead the group. Graduated in Law from the University of Navarra, she has a master’s degree in Human Resources at Garrigues, as well as another postgraduate degree in Taxation at the Center for Financial Studies, among other studies. In the time he has been in charge of Delaviuda has acquired 100% of Cacao Sampaka specialized in the manufacture of high quality cocoa and chocolate. Sánchez has also decisively promoted the deseasonalization of brands such as El Almendro, as well as the internationalization of the group with special emphasis on USA and Latin America. At the beginning of the Christmas campaign, we spoke with her.
In what spirit do you face this Christmas campaign?
We face it with great enthusiasm, because keep in mind that we have been preparing all year for this moment, which is very special, because we can value everything we are working on throughout the year. As for the campaign, we are almost halfway through. It is true that the bulk, that of more traditional products, is from now on. Although everyone thinks that we have been selling nougat since October, but even though we are on the shelves they are different: they are more innovative, more chocolatey nougats. But the real strength of the campaign is that we started on December 1 and the prospects are very positive and exciting. I think we are right now almost the same as last year, a little higher, so they are not bad perspectives. Last year we achieved 4.8% growth. At least we will be there, but I hope to exceed that percentage.
What’s new do you have this year? Because innovation is one of your hallmarks at Delaviuda…
Our core (main business) is hard and soft nougat and it is the one that sells the most throughout Christmas. Here we innovate by making it drink in a different way and, for this reason, we bring out the sticks and the Finííísimos line, which at 40 centimeters is the thinnest nougat there is. Last year we brought it out and this year we have released the very fine imperial cake which, for now, is doing very well in sales and we have not left behind the people who cannot eat sugar since there is also the zero sugar part. Among this year’s collaborations we have one from Bimbo with ‘Pantera Rosa’ that is going very well and we are far ahead of our competitors. Then there is also the Striped Donettes Nougat, since last year we released the classic. These two innovations are among the top five sales this year. With our collaborations we seek alliances with a purpose, not an alliance or cobranding for the sake of it, but rather we seek to give real value to the consumer. On the other hand, we have released a crunchy Cacaolat nougat with the El Almendro brand as well as a collaboration with Inés Rosales through the Delaviuda brand, which is well known in Spain for its oil and anise cakes. Additionally, with Gullón, we have released the ‘Gullón Cocobón’ nougat, which is being a success because it is very youthful. Then, at the panettone level, we have launched a white chocolate one.
What are the trends that you are detecting at the beginning of the Christmas campaign?
We move within the same parameters. Before December, the chocolate and Finíísimo innovations, because it is something different and you can eat it at any time. It is a product that could be completely seasonally adjusted and then our ‘core’ which is what sells the most. Hard and soft nougat are the kings of mambo and pastries, Polvorones and Marzipan, which are the other two categories, along with panettones and in recent years it has grown quite a bit. It is a product that is becoming fashionable. Then, it is not a classic of Spanish geography, but we have the Marquesas de Delaviuda, which are almond cakes and which grow every year.
“I think we are almost the same as last year, a little higher, so the prospects are not bad. Last year we achieved 4.8% growth. At least we will be there, but I hope to exceed that percentage.”
I guess it’s too early to make a growth forecast…
I can’t tell you because right now we are in the middle of the campaign.
Yes, I can say that we are ahead of the market, but there is still time left because now people are starting to buy for Christmas nights. I don’t dare, but for now we are happy.
Tariff war with the US
Has the entire tariff conflict with the United States affected you? How have you managed all this uncertainty?
The flexibility of our organization has allowed us to address the tariff in a way that has impacted both us and the end customer as little as possible. Our flexibility and way of working has led us to minimize this impact as much as possible. What we did, seeing how events were going and since we have quite powerful sales in the United States as well as in South America and Central America, we offered our clients to advance sales. We had to anticipate the purchases of raw materials, produce earlier… It has also happened with other crises here in Spain. If it were a year-round product, it would have impacted us much more. Being an emotional p and consumed at one time of the year, for better or worse, crises of this type have less impact. The very emotional consumer brings together his family and friends and brings what he always has at this type of lunch and dinner, nougat, which is the most typical sweet of this time.
Your great raw material is almonds. You even have your own crops…
We have almond farms in the Tiétar area in Cáceres (Extremadura). It is wonderful because it allows you to know and do. We have an area with two fundamental varieties, but then we also have another that we leave to experiment and see what varieties we can get. This raw material is essential for us. You have to take care of it, pamper it, know how to treat it and buy it. Because not everyone makes it and an almond product has to be very well cared for, because it is a very grateful raw material, with many nutrients and I think it is made from nuts, which are healthier than walnuts. Apart from a product that has a bad almond, you don’t eat it. Our quality is something non-negotiable and, above all, because we take care of it. Both what almonds and honey are. chocolate,… Because there are many products on the market, but quality is a seal that differentiates us from the rest and so is innovation.
Chocolate is precisely the other great ingredient in your products. The price of cocoa has been skyrocketing in recent months. How has all this impacted you when purchasing it?
This Christmas, nougat has come out with expensive cocoa, because when we started producing it was still at its peak, but we do see a certain improvement in the price. Still, I insist, very cautious because it is very volatile. We have had a month or so in which prices seem more stable and are not following the upward trend. I insist on the same thing I told you about the United States about the tariff: At Christmas things work differently. That is, we allow ourselves luxuries that we cannot during the year. That cocoa products have suffered during the year, I tell you yes, but less than expected: because they have shown that they are quite inelastic. For the increase that has occurred, I believe that the decrease in consumption has not been… I am talking about the entire year, not about consumption at Christmas, because I insist that it works in a very different way. What I can also tell you is that our innovations have gone very well, as well as those of other competitors, and they are innovations based on the raw material of cocoa.
“At Christmas things work differently. That is, we allow ourselves luxuries that we cannot during the year”
The future of Cacao Sampaka
Talking about chocolate and beyond what is strictly Christmas. At Delaviuda you have your own brand: Cacao Sampaka. What plans do you have for her in the coming months?
We are talking about a premium chocolate that has nothing to do with mass consumption. It is a very ambitious project and, right now, we are Spain’s reference luxury chocolate brand. In Spain we already have two of our own stores and one franchise, while in Japan there are four. We plan to open, I say this because we have signed it, in Saudi Arabia.
Is Delaviuda open to future growth opportunities or new acquisitions? Is there anything already on your ‘radar’?
Yes of course. What we want is to grow. As? It will be seen little by little. We have purchased Cacao Sampaka. We also have the bars business, in which growth is through new customers and capacity expansions. That is, in a company like ours you can grow organically or inorganically. We are open to both scenarios.
