Frequently Asked Questions

Our products

Storage

To keep your chocolate fresh, store at a temperature of around 18°C, in its original packaging, in a cool, dry place, away from light. Further guidance on storage recommendations can be found on the relevant product information page.

Manufacturing location

Our factory is located in Chambray-les-Tours, France. This is where we transform the cocoa to chocolate and dried fruit to praline. Our confectionery is also made on site. This means we have complete control over recipe management and development.

Allergies and intolerances

All our products are manufactured in the same workshop and so may contain traces of nuts or gluten etc. In accordance with legal requirements, and for the purposes of transparency, we provide labelling information about ingredients on both the product and the relevant product page on our website. This information is also freely available from our sales teams, in our shops; you can also find a list of allergens in our recipes.

Product leaflets

To cut down on paper, we decided not to include a product leaflet in our chocolate boxes. This also gives us the freedom to change our assortments from time to time! Discover our wide range of chocolate bonbons here!

Origins of our cocoa beans

In our recipes we use cocoa beans from a variety of regions: Haiti, Madagascar, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, etc. To ensure the excellence of our products, we control every part of the process, from selecting the co-operatives and raw materials, to blending – the fine-tuning of flavours to obtain the perfect couverture chocolate or praline.

Suppliers are expected to adhere to our good practice charter and our product specifications which are based on several criteria, including:

  • Environmental (sustainable development)
  • Social (labour law and employee rights)
  • Quality and compliance (standards and certificates)
  • Working conditions (no child labour)

We expect our suppliers to behave ethically and be socially responsible. Wherever possible, we prefer to travel to the region and deal directly with producers.

Quality commitment and regulations

We are gradually reducing the use of additives in our products. On the rare occasions we use colouring, we use the minimum amount possible, in strict compliance with the law. Our aim is to provide products that are both wholesome and tasty, which is why we make everything ourselves in our own workshops: chocolates, chocolate spreads, confectionery, fruit jellies, ice creams, macarons and cakes. Manufacturing everything ourselves and controlling the process from start to finish means we can guarantee the consistency, taste and quality of our products. We choose the raw materials, transform the cocoa beans into chocolate and the dried fruit into praline, develop our own recipes and are constantly striving to improve quality.

Best-before date

Our chocolates are hand-crafted and made without preservatives. For this reason, and because we want to be able to guarantee that they are fresh at the time of eating, we deliberately use short best-before dates, usually around five weeks from the date of production. Products are withdrawn from sale two weeks before their best-before date. They may still be safely enjoyed for several weeks after this date, although the products may start to lose some of their flavour.

Packaging

Reducing the amount of waste we produce and reusing unavoidable waste is extremely important in helping reduce our carbon footprint. To achieve this goal, we are using new materials to develop our packaging and are striving to make further improvements. Our plastic is currently made from 80% recycled materials. Our packaging will soon be made from 100% recycled plastic, mainly from water or fizzy drink bottles. Most of our paper and cardboard boxes are assembled using a series of folds, a system that we developed ourselves and which doesn’t require glue. They can all be recycled apart from the small gold card. The spoons used for our take-away ice creams are biodegradable and the small spoons in the individual cups are recyclable.

Distribution network

Due to the fragile nature of the products we manufacture, and because we want to maintain the highest possible standards, we have developed a fully integrated distribution network.

Your order online

Changing or amending an address

You can amend the delivery address or add a new address provided your order hasn’t yet been prepared for dispatch. Click here to send us a message.

Adding a personal message to your order

You can include a personal message to the intended recipient. You can write your message in the box at the end of the order request form.

Tracking delivery

Once your order has been dispatched, you’ll receive an email with a tracking number. Simply click on this number to track your order!

Once the courier has picked up the order from our shop, you’ll receive updates by text message to ensure you don’t miss your delivery.

Payment refused

If your payment is not accepted, please try again. If it still doesn’t work and you can’t place your order, refer to this page for help.

Product availability

Some products are particularly delicate and will not survive shipping. Others are only available from our shops. Occasionally, some of our most popular products may be out of stock, which is why we do not display our full range of products on our website. Visit our shops to discover our full range of jams, cakes, macarons, croque télés, etc. For list of shops click here.

Gift card

Treat your friends and family to a foodie gift! And the chance to enjoy some of the delicious confectionery we have available in our online shop.

There’s a vast range to choose from: boxes of assorted ganache truffles and pralines, chocolate specialties, chocolate bars, coated marshmallows, candies, etc.

Send or receive a virtual gift card for the value of €50, €100, €150 or €200. The card is valid for one year from the date of purchase and may be used exclusively to make a single purchase from our online shop. The gift certificate can be used to buy any products available on the website, including delivery costs. You can choose in-store collection or courier delivery in France or elsewhere in Europe.

The card cannot be refunded or replaced if lost or stolen; nor can it be used in conjunction with special offers or promotions.

Invoices

We never put invoices in with our orders. They can be downloaded from the My Account section of our website. To obtain your invoice, simply click on the relevant order. If you have a query about your order or if you have any other question, click here.

Personalised boxes

Personalised boxes are not available from our on-line store. Our assortments mainly contain dark chocolate.

Gift bags

If you want to present your gift in an A la Mère de Famille bag, please request one when placing your order (box “write message here”). For environmental reasons, we do not automatically include bags as part of your order.

Changing your order

You can change your order provided it hasn’t yet been prepared for dispatch. We can cancel or reimburse an order, or add products that you may have forgotten, via the online payment system. Click here to proceed.

Order confirmation

Once your order has been approved, you will receive a confirmation email with your invoice attached. You can also find all the information relating to your order in the ‘My Account’ section.

Addressee’s contact details

We have selected the Chronopost courier service to deliver our chocolates as we want to ensure they arrive in the best possible condition. This high-quality service for fragile and perishable items comes at a cost, which you may consider high, but we make no profit on this. Shipping costs vary according to the destination (France vs. Europe) but are fixed regardless of the quantity of confectionery ordered!  So, when dispatching large packages, we make up the difference in price. We prefer to offer our high-quality chocolates at a reasonable price throughout the year, rather than charge more per kilo and offer free shipping to our customers.

Using your promo code

When you check out, enter your promo code in the box next to the chocolate bar. Then click OK to save. The promo code can only be used once in our e-shop and cannot be combined with any other offer.

Delivery

Delivery options

See details of our delivery methods.

Shipping costs

We ask for the addressee’s email address and telephone number to ensure that Chronopost tracking operates as smoothly as possible. For our couriers, this is also the only way for them to check that the package is delivered to the right place at the right time.

Delivery options

A click & collect service is available from all our stores; we also offer delivery by courier and shipping delivery throughout France and Europe. If some delivery options aren’t shown, it is probably because the product in your basket is not available for shipping.

Deliveries to the U.S.

Unfortunately, because of the fragile nature of our products and because we are unable to control storage and transport conditions, shipping outside Europe is not currently available.

Deliveries to the U.K

Since Brexit, there have been some changes to shipping regulations for deliveries to the U.K. Customs charges are now payable if the value of the consignment is £135 or above. The amount payable is equal to 8% of the total value of the package and is charged to the recipient.

Contact us

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Want to work with us ?

If you are interested in working with us, you can submit your application here.

Are you interested in a partnership or collaboration ?

We are always happy to hear about your projects and suggestions!  Most of our products, like our chocolates for example, are made in-house. But you never know! Drop us a line on this page.

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