For its first shop in the entire Benelux region, Pierre Hermé has chosen the Royal Hamilius. The chocolate shop and patisserie will--besides chocolates--sell cakes, brioches, ice creams and macarons. It’s due to open before the summer.
Founded in Paris in 1998, Pierre Hermé is now present in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As of 2022, the Pierre Hermé group had 62 shops worldwide, yet none in the Benelux countries, making this one the first. Other recent openings include a boutique in Lyon Part-Dieu and Aix-en-Provence in France, a shop in Basel airport in Switzerland, and a boutique in the Brenners Park-Hotel and Spa in Baden-Baden, Germany.
The chocolatier has already presented its “Paradoxe” collection for Easter, with its “chicken or egg” chocolates (available in dark, milk or white).
The ultimate paradox, except delicious: “It is up to the gourmand to decide which to eat first: the chicken or the egg.” Photo: Pierre Hermé
Among the partnerships launched by the brand is one with Nespresso, which is offering a limited collection of three coffees. Pierre Hermé’s aim is to spread French-style tea rooms around the world, like its competitors Ladurée (already present in Luxembourg and ), Angelina and Christophe Michalak.
Since 2021, 84.77% of the Pierre Hermé France brand has been owned by Walter Butler, one of France’s wealthiest people, who also owns the Paradis Latin and the three-starred Ambroisie restaurant. In 2022, the brand’s turnover was €102m.
When contacted, Pierre Hermé did not respond to our questions at the time of publication of this article.
Macarons by Pierre Hermé. Photo: Shutterstock
This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.