BbyB., a Belgian chocolate specialty store, opened its first Japanese store in Ginza on November 29th. The store is located at 3-4-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
BbyB. is a chocolate specialty store born from the inspiration of Chef Bart Desmid of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Bartholomew's in northern Belgium, in collaboration with chocolatier Jan Verleye. BbyB. condenses Bartholomew's dessert menu into chocolate, creating a new category called "Chef Chocolate." The lineup includes 28 unique flavors, ranging from refreshing fruits and fragrant nuts to "Passion Fruit & Basil" and "Strawberry & Pepper & Lemon."
In order to encourage customers to enjoy the differences in flavor rather than their appearance, all of the chocolates are shaped like the same stick. With just one bite, the flavors of the chocolate and dessert blend together in your mouth, offering a surprising taste that belies its appearance.
To make it easy for first-time B.B. chocolate lovers to choose, the Ginza store offers a total of five different selections. "The Chef's Favorites" and "Favorites of the Chef," available in two large and small packages, are popular among chocolate connoisseurs and feature chefs' favorite flavors. Other selections include "The Classic," featuring flavors that have long been popular with many people; "The Black," featuring dark chocolate; and "The Golden," featuring B.B.'s most popular flavors. It's also intriguing to see what "The Japan Box," inspired by the chef's familiar Japanese ingredients, will taste like.
Each selection is available in two packages: "Collections" (2,600 yen) and "Boxes" (6,500 yen). "Collections" is an assortment of 10 chocolates, while "Boxes" is a set of five "Sleeves" (1,300 yen each), each containing five chocolates. "The Japan Box" only sells "Boxes." They also offer "BbyB. For Business to Business," which allows customers to order original packaging, making them ideal for gifts.
The shop design was created by Oki Sato of nendo. Inspired by BbyB's packaging, a "transparent drawer with floating chocolates" was installed in the center of the store. Visitors can pull out and select products with their own hands, directly embodying the worldview of the packaging. As you move deeper, the transparent drawer transforms into a showcase displaying the chocolates, and then into a black counter table for the cafe. The goal was to create a more integrated experience by seamlessly connecting the process from the shop to the packaging to eating the chocolates.
