Neuhaus is a manufacturer of luxury Belgian chocolates, biscuits and ice cream. The company was founded in Brussels in 1857 by Jean Neuhaus, a Swiss immigrant, who opened the first store in the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. In 1912, his grandson, Jean Neuhaus II, invented the chocolate bonbon or praline.
Today, Neuhaus has over 1,000 selling points in 40 countries. All Neuhaus products are still made in Vlezenbeek, near Brussels, and are exported worldwide. In 2000, the company was named Accredited Supplier to the Belgian Crown.
Having arrived in Brussels from his native Switzerland, Jean Neuhaus opened an apothecary shop in 1857 at the prestigiously located Galerie de la Reine, near the Grand Place. Liquorices, guimauves (similar to marshmallows) and dark chocolate tablets soon joined more traditional preparations on the display counter.
With the assistance of his son Frédéric, he spent an increasing amount of time and effort in preparing and inventing new delicacies to the point where the regular pharmaceutical products gradually ended up making way for them.
In 1912, the year of Frédéric's death, his son, Jean II, created the first chocolate-filled bonbons, or pralines. They were immediately successful. They were followed by another innovation. Louise Agostini, Jean's wife, realised that the pralines were getting crushed inside the paper cornet bags used to wrap them up. Together with her husband, she developed a gift wrap box in 1915 which became known as a the ballotin and was later patented.
Jean's son-in-law, Adelson de Gavre, took over the running of the business. In 1958, he created a series of highly acclaimed pralines such as the Caprice and the Tentation. Suzanne Neuhaus, his wife, specialised in decoration and gift wrapping. The company expanded and stores soon appeared across the country and abroad.