Leonidas Opens a New Chapter for Belgian Chocolate in Nivelles

Leonidas’s move from Anderlecht to Nivelles brings production, offices and storage together, supporting the Belgian chocolatier’s growth while expanding research facilities and creating new ways to explain its longstanding craft.

Think Belgium and things like Manneken Pis, trappist beer and les frites may spring to mind.

There is, of course, also chocolate, probably the most iconic of Belgian products.

One of the country’s finest and best-known chocolate makers is Leonidas (which ironically has Greek connections) and it has just marked a highly significant milestone in its long and successful history.

The company has moved, lock stock and barrel, to brand new premises with the official opening taking place on 15 October.

Its new home is a sprawling site on an industrial estate near Nivelles, about 30 km south of where it had been based for many years in Anderlecht, Brussels.

With over 1,200 points of sale across 40 countries, the Leonidas praline brand is a favourite among Belgians and internationally, too with 50% of its production exported.

Bringing the business together in Nivelles

The new site occupies a five-hectare plot in the Nivelles-Nord industrial zone and includes offices, production facilities, and warehouses—previously spread across two sites in Brussels.

This arrangement has reduced the need for transport between sites and the associated environmental impact.

The new factory comprises 8 industrial lines and 3 artisanal lines—including 5 brand-new ones—and this will enable an expansion of the product range, offering consumers a more diverse and innovative selection in terms of product categories, flavours, shapes, and decorations.

The research and development division has also been strengthened, with nearly 1,000 m² dedicated to laboratories and pilot production lines.

Forbes Belgique reported on 17 October 2026 that the new buildings had received BREEAM Excellent certification, an assessment of their environmental performance.

This certification evaluates factors such as worker health and well-being, energy and water management, transport and mobility, the materials used, and waste management.

Geothermal energy, photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting systems all further contribute to this sustainability.

The original idea, according to Leonidas CEO Philippe de Selliers, had been to find somewhere in or close to Brussels, near its former location which, due to its success, it had outgrown.

But, failing to find somewhere suitable, it was decided to move the entire operation.

The whole workforce has therefore moved from Anderlecht to Nivelles which has quick and easy transport links, affording even more accessibility to the 40-plus countries where the brand is distributed.

The company says it is pleased with the way its staff has embraced the relocation. In fact, 100% of the workforce—including management, office staff, and production workers—joined the chocolatier for this new chapter in its story.

Chocolate isn’t the only thing the new premises can boast – it also features its very own chocolate museum and an “experience centre” where visitors can better understand what goes into the chocolate making process.

The centre is an immersive space that seeks to showcase the Belgian chocolatier’s sustainable and ethical craftsmanship, with the aim of inspiring new careers within the sector.

The site also includes a creative workshop where guests can roll up their sleeves and craft their own praline alongside a Master Chocolatier.

“Through this immersive space, Leonidas aims to boost the appeal of careers within the Belgian chocolate industry,” said a spokesman.

Chocolate is a flagship of Belgium’s food industry. Industry association Choprabisco reports annual turnover of nearly €11 billion and 14,765 employees across the broader chocolate, praline, biscuit and confectionery sector. These figures cover the combined sector rather than chocolate alone.

As a standard-bearer for Belgian chocolate, Leonidas hopes to “reveal the richness of these professions and inspire a new generation to pursue them,” said the spokesman.

The official inauguration included Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Vice-President and Minister of Economy for the Walloon Region and Bernard De Ro, Mayor of Nivelles who spoke of the importance of the move to the local economy.

Speaking at the launch of its new home – which comes after an investment of some €100 million – de Selliers told Martin Banks in the original Brussels Morning report that he was “very excited” about the new venture, saying, “The first choice was to stay in Brussels because that is where we had been as a business for a long time but we are very happy to have found this new site.

“We needed to find somewhere large enough to cope with increased production and where we could also relocate all our staff which I am happy to say we have managed to do.”

He added, “It is vital for us that our product remains as affordable as possible and that we keep prices as low as possible. Being here at this new site will enable us to do just that.”

Including international companies, Leonidas, with 400 shops in Belgium, currently occupies 4th spot in overall chocolate making sales in Belgium.

The CEO’s comments were echoed by Chantal Goosens, the company’s commercial director, who also said it was hoped to expand more internationally including in the UK.

There are, so far, only about 15 Leonidas stores in the UK, mostly in London but also Brighton, but the aim is to use the facilities at its new Nivelles production to steadily expand in the coming years.

She told Banks, “The UK is an important market for us and, going forward, it certainly has lots of potential.”

A family business with Greek roots

Since its inception in 1913, Leonidas has established itself as an iconic Belgian family business.

The size of the business today is a far cry from its relatively humble beginnings.

It was founded back in 1913 by Leonidas Kestekides, a confectioner who had Greek origins.

The founder’s confectionery had already attracted recognition before the business was established.

According to Leonidas’s official history, Kestekides received a bronze medal at the Brussels World Fair in 1910 and a gold medal at the Ghent World Fair in 1913.

As told in the new on-site museum in Nivelles, Leonidas met and fell in love with a Belgian woman, one Joanna Teerlinck, married and settled in Gent where the first Leonidas shop opened.

The second followed, in Blankenberge on the Belgian coast, with a third opening in Brussels soon after.

Leonidas’ nephew, Basile, has played a key role in the company’s success story over the years.

This started, somewhat ignominiously, when he was given, in 1935, a police warning about illegal street vending in Brussels.

His reaction was to rent a small room in the city centre and display his praline chocolates on the windowsill of an open window from where he sold them directly to passers-by.

It was, at the time, seen as a revolutionary idea and the rest, as they say, is history.

According to the company’s historical account, the business continued through the Second World War, with Basile buying cocoa and making chocolate himself.

The same account says the Belgian government capped Leonidas praline prices until 1983, as it did with bread and milk.

Another key milestone in the company history came in 1937 when Basile chose what has become the famous and eye catching Leonidas logo and the one that appears on all of its products. This is the head of the Greek King of Sparta – Leonidas.

Basile chose it as a tribute to his uncle and the company’s founder.

de Selliers says that, today, Leonidas has now turned a new page in its history by inaugurating its new production facility in Nivelles.

It is, he said, designed to support the company’s growth in Belgium and internationally.

“The site helps make the pleasure of chocolate even more accessible to everyone across the 40 countries where the brand is distributed,” he said.

From cocoa bean to finished praline

During the opening, reporters were given a sneak look at the new site, including the experience centre which takes visitors through the different stages of chocolate production.

This starts with cultivation of the cocoa bean – Leonidas sources its blend of cocoa beans largely from three countries in West Africa: Ghana, Togo and the Ivory Coast. Some also come from Vietnam and Venezuela.

As told by Daniel Stallaert, Maitre Chocolatier Leonidas, the process is, in essence, “much the same as it always has been.”

Daniel explained how the process continues with drying, roasting and cracking to mixing and refining and, finally, the moulding of the chocolate in the shapes you see in shops.

Banks observed workers sorting and packaging Leonidas chocolates into gift boxes on the assembly lines, including preparations for the Christmas period.

One of the reasons the company has relocated to the new site in Wallonia is to accommodate increased production and, in doing so, keep it ahead of the game in Belgium.

The new factory is noticeably larger than the one in Brussels, spread over 30,000 square metres compared with 25,000 square metres in Anderlecht.

The potential for increased production means new products could soon be rolling off the production line.

At present the biggest consumers of pralines – the type produced in Belgium – is Belgium itself, followed by France and Germany.

At the October inauguration, general public access was still a future plan. TVcom reported on 15 October 2026 that part of the factory was expected to welcome visitors, including school groups, from September 2027. Visitors should check directly with Leonidas for confirmed opening dates and booking arrangements.

More than 110 years after its founding, Leonidas says the aim is to remain true to its core identity while looking firmly toward the future: continuing to promote Belgian chocolate, both within Belgium and far beyond its borders.

Reporting by Martin Banks. Original report published by Brussels Morning on 16 October 2026.

Photo credit: Leonidas