At Bombonería Pons, the best frozen truffles

BarcelonaStepping into the workshop of Bombonería Pons on Olzinelles Street is a striking experience. It's about ten times larger than the small shop visible from the street. Carla Jodar, the business's manager and communications manager, shows us the warehouse where they store the Easter cakes, ready to be displayed immediately. A marvel of colors, shapes, and themes. A filigree of chocolate work. Pokémon, Spiderman, Lego, Disney, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stranger Things, K-Pop, Bluey, the Minions, Mic, Super Mario, the inevitable Barça, and delightful creations in the shape of motorcycles, foosball tables, hens... Countless variations. A stock that will reach approximately 2,000 chocolate figures and 7,500 Easter eggs. It's a true spectacle that employs a dozen permanent staff, plus temporary workers during peak seasons. The busiest time is Christmas – they can have up to eight employees in the shop – but Easter is also very busy. These days they're really pushing for Valentine's Day – a chorus of chocolates for every taste – and soon they'll be changing the decorations to get ready for Easter in full swing.

Pons Chocolate Shop was founded in 1960 thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Joan Ramon Pons and, above all, his wife Urcisina, who worked at Caramels Mauri and decided to strike out on her own, opening a small chocolate workshop in Sants, the same location where they remain today. Little by little, they ventured into new ventures beyond chocolates and candies, such as turrón (nougat). The couple's son, Joan Ramon—the second generation—also took on the role of salesperson. This led to their crucial connection with Turrones Virginias, to whom they began supplying chocolate turrón. The expansion of the business involved modernizing the workshop, acquiring new machinery, and a desire to reach a wider audience. This, combined with the high demand for retail sales from many of the neighborhood residents, prompted them to open a shop for the public. Now in the hands of Àlex Pons – the third generation – and his team, Bomboneria Pons opened a new shop in Les Corts two years ago and is now exploring the possibility of a future opening in the center of Barcelona. "We'll have to carefully study the potential sales volume and calculate whether we can handle it with the capacity of our workshop. We're excited," Carla emphasizes.

Pons' sales channels are diverse. The most important, and the one to which they dedicate the most effort and care, is retail sales in their two stores: "The end customer is our priority." The second is online sales through their own website, which allows them to attract customers from all over. The third is wholesale to pastry shops that consider them their primary suppliers of confectionery and chocolates. "Many pastry businesses don't have skilled chocolatiers, so they outsource that service to us." In this sense, they have customers from here, as well as from across Spain and internationally. And the fourth and final channel is the companies that order gift baskets and favors for employees or for events and conventions. A recent example: a Canadian tire company that needed a large quantity of boxes of chocolates for a meeting at a Barcelona hotel.

How many chocolates do they have at Pons? Countless varieties. And nougat. Well, between the classics, the praline ones, the truffle ones, and the marzipan ones, you have to count about seven or eight varieties of each. They're one of their main attractions. They start selling them in mid-November, and customers devour them right away, so when the Christmas season approaches, they need more. About 40,000 bars of nougat annually. That's quite a lot! And the Easter cakes? It's the most creative time of the year, but also the one that requires the most effort and commitment. You only have to remember the walk through the warehouse of chocolate figures to get an idea of ​​the work involved.

Pons's clientele is very diverse. From longtime customers to people who have recently moved to the neighborhood and tourists. During the Christmas season, long queues form in the street, and people need to be a bit more patient. Carla points out a type of customer who has stood the test of time—although there are fewer and fewer of them—the older person who spends a good amount on sweet treats for their trusted companions: doctors, lawyers, accountants, local shopkeepers, etc. A way of doing things from the past that some still maintain.

"Would you like to try some frozen truffles that you'll love?" "Of course!" "What do you think?" "Delicious."