Who is responsible for maintaining the quality of the place?

Maison Cailler is located in Broc, a municipality in the canton of Fribourg, on the site of the Cailler factory built in 1898. The visitor centre offers an exhibition tour that explains the history of the company and how chocolate is made, as well as a chocolate workshop, a retail shop and a café. This chocolate hotspot opened its doors for the first time in 2010 and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from Switzerland and abroad every year. Cailler has been part of the Nestlé food group since the Great Depression of 1929.

Does the place serve its purpose?

Equipped with audio guides, visitors are led in groups on a paced tour of nine rooms. Each room uses multimedia to tell a piece of history, from the cocoa bean in the Aztec empire to the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and the founding of Cailler. Visitors can view part of the production process through windows, sample different types of chocolate and try their hand at being a chocolatier in the workshop. Maison Cailler is a typical brand museum of the kind that has sprung up in many places in recent years.

Does the place foster sustainable mobility?

Broc is a village in the Gruyère region of the canton of Fribourg. There is a railway stop just a few minutes from the entrance to the visitor centre. The rail line connects the small town to the national railway network for travel to and from Bern or Fribourg, for example. The town is also easily accessible by bus. This makes it easy for the many visitors to reach the museum by public transport.

Is the place economically viable in the long view?

According to a Nestlé press release, 437,640 people visited the exhibition in 2023, which equates to an average of 1,200 people per day. Admission to the exhibition costs 17 Swiss francs for adults and 7 francs for children. After the tour, visitors can stock up on chocolate in the shop or have a drink in the café. The factory and visitor centre appear to be well positioned for the coming decades.

Does the place bring different people together?

According to company information from early 2024, around half of the visitors come from Switzerland. Others come from various European countries and North America. The number of visitors from Asia is also on the rise. There are school classes, families, couples and individuals, all taking the same set tour in the allotted time. After the tour, they can learn about the art of chocolate-making in the workshop or enjoy a hot chocolate in the café.

Is the place in dialogue with the landscape, urban fabric, colours and materials?

Most of the site is taken up by the factory, where some 3,600 tonnes of cocoa beans are processed into 12,000 tonnes of chocolate every year. The factory has been located in Broc since 1898 and has since grown steadily. Industrial sheds – austere, spacious and largely fenced in – are grouped around the historic and prestigious factory building. The company employs around 230 people in Broc, some of whom work in the visitor centre, which also has an austere exterior.

Are local, regional and historical values integrated into the design and management of the place?

The scenography in the visitor centre integrates objects, packaging, graphics and commercial advertisements from Cailler’s history. There are also photos, artefacts and information about the countries where the cocoa beans are grown and harvested. Those who take the tour are completely transported into this world. This feeling is enhanced by the light, the use of sound and the absence of windows that would otherwise provide a link to the outside world. The aim of the exhibition tour is to provide an immersive experience.

Does the place have an atmospheric impact on the beholder?

The extraordinary thing about visiting the exhibition is the aroma. This seductive, sweet scent fills the air from the moment you leave the railway station, heading to Maison Cailler, and lingers with you throughout your visit. As the tour draws to a close, children and adults alike can taste a variety of chocolates, delighting anyone with a sweet tooth, whether young or old, making a trip to the Maison Cailler a thoroughly evocative experience for all who visit.