Julia Zotter, MSc

Sweet dreams come true in a responsible way

• www.zotter.at

I am the eldest daughter of the founders of Zotter Chocolate and I have been part of the family business since the beginning, growing up in the pastry world. While I have always loved experimenting with recipes, I also dreamed of becoming an astronaut – a rather serious wish. However, the company became fully organic and dedicated to fair trade and I am now reaching for the stars in a company where social responsibility is high on the agenda. After spending a year in China (Xi-an and Beijing) during secondary school, I went on to study Food Science and Biotechnology in Vienna. For my thesis, I travelled to Brazil to establish an experimental cacao fermentation project with farmers. In 2013, I graduated from the Cordon Bleu Academy in Paris with a Grand-Diplome in Pâtisserie and Cuisine as one of the best in my year. A few years later I finished my Master of Pastry degree in Austria. Between 2014 and 2018 I opened and ran the Zotter Chocolate Theatre in Shanghai and I also head product development and international markets (Zotter China & USA). On top of that, I frequently visit cacao farmers and prepare myself to take over the company in a few years. As a real cosmopolitan, I speak 6 languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.