Félix Brunatto

The Entrepreneur
Felix Brunatto (78) is an entrepreneurial legend in Chile, with over fifty years of experience in building twenty-seven companies, most with revenues between US$1-6MM. Felix ventured into the forest industry in the 1950's where he spent a decade building the leading producer of new applications for wood products (i.e., prefabricated housing, furniture, popsicle sticks). From 1960 through the early 1980's Felix started up companies in the publishing industry, optics and merchandising. In 1983, he was inspired by the potential of “lombricultura” and moved to the very south of Chile to start an earthworm farm. While most of his peers were preparing for retirement, at the age of 71, Felix founded Chocolates Brunatto – the leading producer of fine fresh chocolate in Latin America .

In 2002 Felix Brunatto was chosen to be supported by Endeavor, a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship in emerging markets–the segment poised to create the most jobs.

The Company
Chocolates Brunatto produces top-shelf, premium fresh chocolates in a wide variety of unique textures and flavors for both the corporate market and individual consumers.

The company purchases high quality raw materials directly from European providers, including the chocolate shell from Belgium and the filling and individual wrapping paper from Italy . With input from the Brunatto laboratory, local flavors are added and the chocolates are made in its Curacavi factory.

Brunatto's products – which have an expiration date of 30 days – are categorized as “fresh chocolates,” an entirely unique breed of chocolate as compared to traditional, mass-market products. Like wine, the quality of fresh chocolate depends upon specialized know-how, a sophisticated production process and the quality of its raw materials. Chocolates Brunatto uses only natural ingredients for its products, without preservatives, additional sugar, colorants or fat. The chocolate goes through a rigidly controlled regimen, including temperature-controlled storage,intense quality control, and several rounds of testing.

Brunatto has capitalized on Chile 's country brand, and has developed an exotic line of native flavors including Licor de Aji, Queso de Cabra, Pimienta, and Queso Rockefort con Manjar. The chocolates' proprietary flavors, brightness, color, texture, as well as the presentation, marketing and careful selection of distribution partners, have earned the company an excellent reputation in the market.

Brunatto has been recognized by international chocolate connoisseurs Philippe Leparc ( France ) and Giuseppe Scaringella ( Italy ) as one of the top ten fresh chocolate producers in the world.

About Felix Brunatto 

If we could say something about Felix Brunatto is “he loves to create things”. No matter what it is, he always attends to create solutions and objects. Innovation is part of his personality: “Since I began, innovation has been my way to compete as I don't know how to compete”. His formula is, a lot of passion, magic and poetry on everything that you undertake: This formula has  never failed him, and makes him feel more as a medieval jeweler than a businessman.

He was born in Antofagasta , but when he was ten years old, he and his family (of Italian origin) moved to Santiago where he went to a seminary. But, after eight years, he realized that religious life was not for him. Then he studied to be an accountant: “ I did no work even a day as an account man, I don't imagine myself behind a desk. My true calling always has been to create things”, Brunatto said.

After he got married, he started to develop a Popsicle stick's factory, the first one in Chile . He also started a furniture, wood packing and all wood relative things entrepreneurship because wood allowed him to create.

From 1957 to 1982 he created and runned a bookstore, and as he likes to say “it is the natural progression of wood”. The most famous bookstore he owned was “Libreria Studio” considered one of most important bookstores in  Chile . He confess those were the most wonderful times on his life because he could combine all of the book's process simultaneously: print, publish, sell and distribute. “I even published Pablo Neruda´s most wonderful books”. Now one of his most cherished chocolates collections is an homage to the poet.

After the 80´s decade, Brunatto like other Chilean businessman suffered from the economic crisis and started again.

Brunatto realized a potential in worm culture, and became a pioneer, developing an activity to detoxify and transform waste in vegetal manure: “He imported worms from Italy and multiplied them quickly. "We started as students and ended as teachers all over Latin America ”.

In 1989 another project challenged Brunatto. The ecological devastation on Patagonia territories kept surfacing on his mind. He moved with everything there. Obtaining United Nation and Chilean government financial support he partnered with Antonio Horvath (currently Senator of Chile) and with Sergio de Amesti, among others, to teach the people who lived there, how to care for the environment.  In 1992, new Chilean government authorities suspended the financial support to ecological projects so Brunatto came back to Santiago and begun an ice cream factory “ Dei Fiori”. This activity introduced him to the chocolate's world. Later he traveled to  Europe and studied all techniques necessaries to develop a high quality product with some of the best chocolatiers in the world. Seven years later, after having successful experimented in many different areas, Brunatto decided that chocolates is the most enjoyable activity for him. “This is not some machine processing, is not an industry, here you involve even your artistic sense, your personal philosophy, your temperament, your mood…”

Used to be in touch with nature and at open spaces, he leaves Santiago and chooses Curacavi as his home and business center: “There you experience a different air that you may breath, clean air, nut trees, almonds trees” …and you find a little peach colored house with a suggestive sign that says “El Atelier del Cioccolato di Felix Brunatto”.

His business runs fine, even though he does not spend on advertising. The chocolate bonbons have a very good reputation in the market: “ We want to teach people that chocolate is a pleasure, a subtle pleasure full of shades, like only a good wine, or a beautiful jewelry can cause”….” You must look, smell, savour, put attention to the beauty of the chocolate's shape, to the shine and perfume of cacao, or to its intensity”.

His bonbons have been enjoyed by international leaders, presidents, authorities, businessmen.

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