A Syrian businessman wants to make Hungary a chocolate empire

Bassam Ghraoui believes that chocolate knows no limits. The Syrian businessman came to Hungary because of the war in his home country, and here, as a Syrian-Hungarian citizen, he is building a chocolate factory and creating over 500 new jobs, we learn from his interview with hvg.hu.

The origins

There is a story of the Ghraoui family that stretches back to over 200 years ago. The first Ghraoui business was established in Damascus, in 1805, trading sugar, coffee, tea and fruits. The first breakthrough came at the beginning of the twentieth century: Sadek Ghraoui decided to expand the family business over the world. At this point, the business was trading own products as well, Sadek was the first person to open a canning company in his country and it slowly became the biggest company in Syria.

In 1931 Bassam’s father, Sadek, came up with the idea to introduce the Arabic population to quality chocolate, but this takeover was not easy. Bassam says that the chocolate imported from Austria was sold first with silver scissors, gold letter openers to pique people’s interests. It was not only the chocolate that he brought over from Western-Europe but a chocolate expert from France. This period was the golden age of the Ghraoui chocolate: it was sold in the most prestigious shops in London, thus the family became an importer of Queen Elisabeth II.

The political changes of the decades following the events of 1946 (Syria became an autonomous country) had a negative impact on the family business. Three years after the union of Damascus with Egypt, the Egyptian president, Nasser, initiated a wave of nationalisation, and because of this, Sadek shortly lost his trading company and his factories. After the fall of the socialist order, Sadek was able to rebuild his empire. But two years after this, in 1964, the Baath regime nationalised his company and factories again. Bassam recalls a memory from his childhood, watching his father while he read the newspaper with a worried look on his face, followed by the words of his mother: “we’ve lost everything”.

The most tragic event, however, came in 1969: Bassam’s father passed away. Upon finishing high school, Bassam took over the family business. At that point, it was just a small shop, but Bassam managed to open a new chocolate factory in Ghouta, in 1996. The goal was to produce the best quality on the market, and they had great success: the company won at many chocolate exhibitions in the following years and it also became the main importer of several first class hotels.

The Syrian war put an end to the second golden age. The family had to close their factory in Ghouta in 2011, the workshop in Damascus followed shortly, and the Ghraoui chocolates slowly disappeared from the shelves of the shops.

From Damascus to Budapest

The war forced the family to leave their home, this is how they ended up in Hungary. “I’m Hungarian” – tells Bassam Ghraoui hvg.hu, when asked about the reasons for choosing Hungary as the new home for their business. Bassam further adds,that they were considering their options in other Southern and South-eastern countries, but the conditions were the most favourable here, in Hungary. On top of this, the company plans to build a factory in Hatvan, Hungary, and the Hungarian government is willing to give them financial support.