Here is the story of the first Greek chocolate company - Pavlidis Ygeias.
Our childhood memories have aromas and flavours that we carry with us forever. We all fondly remember how grandma's house smelled on Sundays when she baked the delicious giouvetsi or how sweet mum's marble cake made our afternoons.
But more than that, we all remember trying chocolate for the first time. After all, it was a flavour explosion; a unique delight was hidden in every piece of chocolate in the package.
This began a relationship that would last forever, unaltered by the passing years. The iconic blue wrapper of the first chocolate we loved in Greece also brings back memories from our journey.
How could it be otherwise since, when we say chocolate, the image of Pavlidis Ygeias springs from our minds, blue and majestic to always be by our side, whatever the occasion.
Pavlidis Ygeias has never disappointed us, packed with coffee in small chocolates, treated to birthdays and holidays, and adored in diets and nutritional plans.
A sweet drop of history
In 1861, Spyridon Pavlidis' Confectionery in Athens started making the iconic chocolate. The Greeks loved and supported it so much that a few years later, in 1876, the first chocolate factory in the country was opened.
The founder abandoned all other business activities and dedicated himself with all his love to preparing a chocolate that would reach even the most remote corner of Greece. History confirmed his vision, and for decades, Pavlidis Ygeias has been in our hands with the same longing as if we were still children.
The course of the blue – like the blue of the Greek sky and the sea – chocolate was impressive and was inextricably linked with the history and tradition of the place.
In its 162 years of history, it has won 19 international awards and medals printed on the blue wrapper. Together with the image of the Acropolis in the centre, it has become one of the most characteristic symbols of Greekness.
Success did not change the quality and taste, and these two elements remain unchanged.
So, every time we open a Pavlidis Ygeias, we know for that we will dive into our childhood memories and all the carefree moments when the characteristic wrapper was in our hands, sometimes a boat that rested on our desk, and sometimes a notebook where we wrote the phone number of our first date.
All these small moments that we lived in the company of Pavlidis Ygeias are why she has become the chocolate of our hearts forever.
Taste that takes you on a journey
Today, in addition to the classic flavour that we all know and trust, we find the iconic chocolate and two other flavours, orange and almonds, giving another dimension to the bitter category.
Whichever of the three we prefer, we wait to throw away the wrapper until December 24, 2023; our favourite chocolate is sending us on vacation with the TASTE THAT TRAVELS YOU contest.
Every time we open a Pavlidis Ygeias, we taste a piece of Greece, and it can be the starting point for the most enjoyable journey, in the rich taste, in the memories, and a trip to the Greece of the blue sky.
Specifically, two lucky winners win a trip to the Greek destination of their choice, worth €1,000 every week. The contest includes the Pavlidis Ygeias packages, with Orange and Almond in a 100gr package, and permanent residents of Greece over 18 years of age are eligible to participate.
Participation is straightforward; it is enough to visit ygeiaspavlides.gr, to register.
So this is our chance to escape with a Pavlidis Ygeias in hand and find ourselves in the Greek destination of our hearts.
READ MORE: History of ION, Greece's most famous chocolate.
