E. Wedel
After 173 years, the Polish heritage brand E.Wedel is reinventing itself, elevating both the quality of its chocolate and the efficiency of its production. With Bühler’s help, it is working at particle sizes of just 12 micrometers and reaching world-class standards in taste and smoothness. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Burkhard Böndel, November 2024
Preparations are in full swing. Drilling, hammering, painting, and testing are taking place. No wonder − after more than 170 years of a rich and varied his-tory, Wedel the tradition-rich confectioner is opening a museum in the heart of Warsaw for visitors to discover chocolate with all their senses.
Located within the existing factory grounds, which were built in 1931 on the shores of Lake Kamionkowskie, the E.Wedel Chocolate Factory Museum spans three floors and 2,500 square meters, showcasing the entire world of this sweet delight and the E.Wedel brand universe. Visitors learn how chocolate has conquered the world, that Wedel’s cocoa beans come exclusively from Ghana, and how the beans are crafted into a wide range of chocolate treats. Visitors can touch, taste, smell, and play − it is a place of joy and a sensory feast.
The purpose of the museum is to open up the world of Wedel. “E.Wedel is a very strong brand − one of the oldest in Poland,” says Robert Zydel, Museum Director. “We want to share our history with our customers and show them the world of chocolate – its production, history, and packaging design. It will provide visitors with an in-depth experience of the whole chocolate phenomenon and our brand, including tours and workshops in the chocolate factory. We hope they will see Wedel in a new, fresh way.”
Visitors learn how Karol Wedel, founder of the company, introduced chocolate to Poland around 1851 − originally inspired by his stays in Paris, where chocolate was enjoyed as a hot beverage. His successors, Emil (his son) and Jan Wedel (his grandchild), continually innovated, establishing E.Wedel as the leading chocolate brand in Poland. During the communist era, the company was nationalized, and in 1991, Pepsi Co. acquired it until it was finally taken over by the Japanese firm Lotte Co., Ltd. in 2010. These ownership changes did not diminish the brand’s popularity.
When asked which manufacturer they associate with chocolate, more than 90 percent of Polish consumers answer E.Wedel, according to a recent brand tracking study for brands in the sweets category.
Describing this place merely as a museum would be misleading. It is, in fact, a unique experience center. Integrated into the factory, it serves as the new emotional focal point for the brand and its products, marking a new chapter in the company’s long and varied history.
The new chapter is all about high ambitions. Just in time for the museum’s opening, Wedel is introducing a new milk chocolate that sets a new quality standard in the region. Such high-quality chocolate has not been produced in Poland before. The reason for this move is that, until now, the company has not been among the top players in milk chocolate. While Wedel can claim about one-third of the market for dark chocolate, its share in the milk chocolate segment is only around 10 percent and milk chocolate represents a much larger market. “We aim to change this and become the top provider in Poland in the medium term,” explains Tomokazu Kono, Director of Production at Wedel.
The new quality level comes with a specific figure: 12 micrometers. It’s not just any old number – this is the metric that makes the hearts of chocolate experts beat faster because it represents the particle size of the ground chocolate mass. The rule is, the smaller the particles, the finer the chocolate tastes, the smoother it melts, and the more impressive the explosion of flavor in the mouth. The average for most chocolate ranges from 18 to 22 micrometers. “With this chocolate, we are reaching world-class standards,” says Kono.
To venture into such a realm, two ingredients must harmonize perfectly, technology and knowledge – technology in process design and machinery, knowledge of recipes and process knowledge.
“Due to the complexity and high standards of our task, it was clear to us that we could only undertake the small-particle-size project with Bühler,” says Kono. The impetus for the project came from Kono. Gradually, he managed to convince the traditionalists among his Polish colleagues of its benefits. “At first, I was met with skepticism, but in the end, we became a team and were excited about the mission,” he says. In 2020, the Wedel-Bühler engineering team got to work. At first, they were slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic.
An additional challenge was that the new line had to be installed in an existing building with ceiling heights of just 3 meters. Nevertheless, the team finally defined the process and equipment, bringing the solution to paper and into the engineering system with the ShearMix as the mixing system, the PreFiner S and Finer S as roll refiners, and the DÜC conches for bringing the flavor to life.
“I am really proud that I personally have had the chance to work with Wedel for over 30 years. Our collaborative relationship is built on mutual passion and commitment to delivering the best technological and technical solutions,” says Jacek Kerber, Managing Director of Bühler Warsaw. Another key reason for the close relationship with Wedel is the in-depth technical know-how of Bühler’s salespeople.
Thanks to their high level of experience and knowledge, they were able to speak the same language as their customers from day one of a project. The core components of the process are the five-roll refiner and the conche. After the PreFiner S crushes the ingredients − sugar, cocoa mass, and milk powder − and transforms them into a paste, Bühler’s Finer S five-roll refiner pulverizes the substance to the desired 12 micrometers.
“Only Bühler can deliver this reliability,” says production expert Kono. The powder is then reconstituted and liquefied with cocoa butter in the conche. Additional flavor and content ingredients are added here, creating the unique taste of the chocolate depending on the recipe.
The conche also plays a crucial role in another aspect: efficiency of production. Grinding and conching take hours. The rule is, the finer the product needs to be, the longer the process takes, This affects the line’s capacity. However, Bühler stands not just for quality but also productivity. With the new process design and Bühler’s DÜC S conche, Wedel was able to reduce the process time by around 30 percent. “Especially in times of high raw material prices, this productivity helps us keep our costs under control,” says Kono.
Since no one at Wedel had experience with the necessary recipes, processes, and equipment, Kono sent his colleagues to Bühler’s Chocolate Application Center in Uzwil, Switzerland. This included the entire team, from research and development, to marketing, operations, and other key personnel. They visited multiple times and learned the entire process from bean to bar, beginning with raw materials, refining, conching, ball milling, and molding.
Due to the complexity and high standards of our task, it was clear to us that we could only undertake the 12-micron particle size project with Bühler.
Tomokazu Kono,
Director of Production at Wedel
The last course in 2022 focused on the new conching process using the DÜC S. It offers short conching times by applying higher shear in a shorter period. “My idea was that colleagues in all functions involved in this new project should have a fundamental knowledge of chocolate manufacturing. New product creation starts by forging employees’ abilities,” Kono explains. “It really opened our eyes,” explains Katarzyna Kowlaczyk, Marketing Manager at Wedel. “I never thought that the process of making top-quality milk chocolate could be so complex and that we would have to consider so many parameters.”
The conching process, in particular, was completely redefined for Wedel at Bühler’s Application Center. The conches that Wedel had been using were underpowered, which made the process unnecessarily long and also meant that the energy input into the mass could not be adequately controlled. “With the Bühler conche, which processes the mass with up to 160 kilowatts and speed-controlled motors, a whole new world of chocolate production opened up for us,” says Magda Ewa Kołodziejczyk, R&D Manager at Wedel.
And now it has arrived: Wedel’s first world-class milk chocolate. Every museum visitor receives a 50-gram bar at the end of the tour. They can also purchase 90-gram bars in the museum gift shop and Pijalnie Czekolady E.Wedel. In future, Wedel plans to introduce the product to the broader market. Step by step, the quality chocolate will be incorporated into other products as well.
All of Wedel’s employees were briefed and trained in detail about the recipe development. When asked how they would characterize an ideal chocolate, among the answers included, “smooth melting in the mouth” and “harmony of duet, with the cocoa note gradually intensifying as it melts in the mouth”. Or, as Kono says, “Our chocolate is like a Chopin nocturne with a crescendo effect.” Thanks to technical innovation and a fresh interpretation, Polish tradition is experiencing a renaissance.
Who: Wedel
When: Founded in 1851.
Where: Warsaw, Poland
What: Wedel makes chocolates, Ptasie Mleczko®, pralines, cookies, waffles, bars, and ice cream.
Customers: The company supplies customers in almost 60 countries.
Bühler: Wedel has the ShearMix mixing system, the PreFiner S and Finer S roll refiners, and the DÜC S conche. Its employees received training at Bühler’s Chocolate Application Center in Uzwil, Switzerland.
Gupfenstrasse 5
Uzwil
9240
Switzerland
