Parc du chocolat Cailler: Project in Broc Takes Shape

(eap) The plans for the Parc du chocolat Cailler in the Swiss municipality of Broc are being concretised: Four years after the official project launch, the developed documents are now ready for public display. The park, centred around the traditional Cailler brand, which is considered the oldest chocolate manufacturer in Switzerland, will offer a comprehensive edutainment concept and is set to welcome 800,000 visitors a year initially, rising to up to one million visitors annually in the long term.

Image: Courtesy of Association Gruyère-Chocolat

The park will be directly accessible by train and will additionally be connected via a cable car to the outlying district of Liaubon. A parking garage as well as hotel facilities are planned there in order to encourage longer stays. The total investment for the implementation of the project is estimated at 400 million Swiss francs (approx. 433 million euros). The concept provides for a combined visitor experience featuring workshops, tastings and insights into the history of chocolate production. Among the planned elements are a cocoa greenhouse, a Flying Theater and outdoor event spaces.

In order to restore the view of the symbolic neo-Renaissance-style factory façade of Maison Cailler, the project also plans the demolition of the building that currently houses the entrance, museum shop and café. This will be replaced by a smaller-volume building set back from the historic façade. In the new building, the tour through the Parc du chocolat Cailler will begin with workshops led by master chocolatiers.

© Jogne Invest SA – BRC Imagination Arts

After touring the original buildings dating back to 1898, visitors will cross the Jaunbach stream. On the other side, the old, listed but currently unused factory workshops will be fully restored and will take visitors on a journey through the history of chocolate production across different eras and societies – from the Aztecs to the present day. At the end of this journey, visitors will be able to observe a historic chocolate production line in operation within a reconstructed wing of the building.

Image: Courtesy of Association Gruyère-Chocolat

Another highlight of the tour will be the landscaped and functionally designed area between the former workshops and the Broc hydropower plant. A greenhouse in the shape of cocoa beans is intended to add an educational, experiential and botanical component to the visit. The cocoa greenhouse will take visitors on a journey through the cultivation of cocoa trees and the production of milk from the Gruyère region, the main ingredients of Cailler chocolate.

From there, visitors will cross the Jaunbach once again before entering a gallery that immerses them in the world of industrial chocolate production and explains the various stages of the manufacturing process, from cocoa beans to the finished product. This gallery will run along the façades of the factory and offer direct views into the production halls. It will also lead to the final stage of the tour: the “Emporium du chocolat”, where Cailler products can be tasted.

© Jogne Invest SA – BRC Imagination Arts

In the outdoor area, the “Esplanade Cailler” will offer various public spaces that can be used for events. Commercial spaces and a bicycle station with 400 spaces are planned in the basement of the esplanade. Finally, the disused factory buildings opposite the railway station will make way for a project comprising the cable car station, the park ticket office and a Flying Theater offering a virtual flight over a selection of Switzerland’s most scenic landscapes.

The company Jogne Invest will finance, build and operate the Parc du chocolat Cailler, the parking garage, the coach parking area and the cable car. Various scenarios are currently being considered for the hotel component, including cooperation with hotel groups. Subject to planning approval and construction progress, the investors are aiming to open a first phase of the project in 2030. ■