EVENTS

Zaventem International Airport, Brussels
8 May 2008

Today, 55 Manneken Pis made from Belcolade chocolate set off from Zaventem International Airport, Brussels, on a world tour to mark the 20 Years of Passion celebration of Belcolade.

At a press conference held this morning at the Sheraton Hotel Brussels Airport, Natalie Van Haute, Puratos Belux Marketing Manager, explained how her team had put together their entry for the Belcolade global contest. Towards the end of 2007 Belcolade invited all the Puratos subsidiaries around the world (in over 100 countries) to dream up a special event to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Belcolade in their local market. Over 16 countries around the world are taking part, including Belux, Germany, Italy, Brazil, China and Japan to name just a few.

Natalie and her team wanted to choose something typically Belgian for their entry into the competition, and out of the many famous Belgian things to choose from, they chose the Manneken Pis, made out of Belcolade chocolate of course! However, they soon hit a problem, as a large mould of the Manneken did not exist, so they set about finding a partner to work with on the project.

In close collaboration with Chocolate World the large mould was born, and soon went into production. The statue stands 60cm tall and 23cm wide, and weighs 1.5kg. Our Belgian demonstrators worked extremely hard to prepare the 55 statues, to have them ready for their global tour in time.

So, they're now on their way around the world where they will be photographed by the local Puratos team in each destination country, in front of a famous landmark of their nation.

We invite you to the Belcolade Manneken Pis exhibition which takes place this summer in Brussels, where you will be able to see the photos returned from around the world.

"The making of the Chocolate Manneken Pis'"
Belcolade Manneken Pis