La Casita de los Bombones

LA CASITA DE LOS BOMBONES is a small specialized factory dedicated to the artisan production of chocolates with special fillings. It is a very differentiated product, very innovative and of high quality, with carefully artisan elaboration. The originality is the filling of the chocolate, made with typical food products, such as Manchego cheese, rosemary honey and wine, all of which are products with a Protected Denomination Origin (PDO). The family history goes back to a baker grandfather, a father pastry chef and the current business, initiated jointly by father and son. The current business is the outcome of a joint project between José Manuel Cuenca Campos (master artisan chocolatier) and José Manuel Cuenca Cano (his son, artisan chocolatier). The technical profile of the son is combined with the experience and the traditional know-how and artisan of the father, who has been able to transmit it to his son. Nowadays, after years of working together, José Manuel (father) has left the work and is currently only co‐owner. The business is focused on gourmet store, select products stores, shops specializing in wines and pastry shops, but also serves hotels, restaurants and catering services. The business is currently expanding serving the European international market and incorporating new varieties that can reinforce the position in the markets and favour their growth. Given the youth of José Manuel Cuenca, it is still early to think about the next generation.

Key words: artisan chocolate, knowledge transfer, innovation, differentiation

This case was prepared by Juan J. Jiménez and Gabriela Lagos, from UCLM (Spain), as a partial output of the Artisan Project.

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