Guido Gobino

Turin and Milan, Italy Stores
+39 011.24.762.45
shop@guidogobino.it
Visit Guido Gobino official website

Celebrating the Chocolate Heritage of Turin

Few chocolate styles are as closely connected to a city as gianduja is to Turin. For Guido Gobino, that heritage provides both a foundation and an opportunity to innovate.

The Italian chocolatier is particularly known for his interpretation of the Giandujotto, Turin’s distinctive hazelnut-and-chocolate confection. His work combines traditional production methods with careful ingredient sourcing, cacao research and contemporary flavour development.

Today, the family business remains firmly rooted in Turin while continuing to explore what Piedmontese chocolate can become.

Three Generations of Chocolate

The Gobino family’s chocolate story dates to 1964, when Giuseppe Gobino joined a Turin chocolate company as production director after years working in cacao refining. He became its sole owner in 1980.

Guido Gobino joined the business in 1985, bringing a renewed emphasis on research, innovation and traditional Turin specialities, particularly Giandujotto and gianduja cream. More recently, Pietro Gobino has joined the company, extending the story into a third generation.

The historic headquarters on Via Cagliari in Turin remains the company’s factory, encompassing production through retail. Visitors can also experience Guido Gobino through its Turin boutiques and organised tastings.

The Giandujotto at the Heart of the Collection

Invented in Turin in 1865, the Giandujotto became one of the city’s defining chocolates. Gobino continues to produce it using the traditional extrusion method, rather than moulding the chocolate.

At its heart is the celebrated Tonda Gentile Trilobata hazelnut of Piedmont, which the company says it has purchased directly from growers for more than 20 years. Depending on the recipe, it is combined with aromatic cacao, Italian sugar and Piedmontese milk.

Gobino’s range now includes several interpretations. The Classic Giandujotto maintains the familiar milk-based recipe, while Maximo is milk-free and closer to the original 19th-century style. An Indonesia version explores how cacao origin can alter the character of gianduja.

From Giandujotto to Tourinot

One of Gobino’s most recognisable innovations is the Tourinot, a smaller five-gram interpretation of the classic Giandujotto. The collection includes several recipes, from Classic and Maximo to the intensely hazelnut-forward Maximo +39, which contains more than 39 per cent Piedmont hazelnuts and is tempered by hand.

That chocolate earned the Tavoletta d’Oro 2025 award for Best Gianduja, reinforcing Gobino’s ability to innovate without losing sight of Turin’s chocolate heritage. Other Gobino products were also recognised among the competition’s Chocolates of Excellence.

Piedmont Ingredients, Global Cacao

Although Piedmont hazelnuts are fundamental to the brand, Gobino’s work extends well beyond gianduja.

The current collection includes pralines, cremini, chocolate disks, bars, spreads, dragées and hot chocolate. Its professional chocolate range explores cacao from Ecuador, Venezuela, Madagascar and Indonesia, allowing different origins and flavour profiles to play a larger role.

Research and sensory analysis are also built into the company’s production process. Gobino maintains a research laboratory and trained tasting panel used to evaluate ingredients and establish flavour profiles.

Tradition That Continues to Evolve

Guido Gobino’s strength lies in treating tradition as something living rather than fixed.

The company still uses the extrusion technique associated with historic Giandujotti and continues to champion Piedmont hazelnuts. At the same time, different cacao origins, new recipes and contemporary collections continually broaden that tradition.

More than 60 years into the family’s chocolate story, Guido Gobino remains unmistakably connected to Turin — demonstrating how one of Italy’s most historic chocolate specialities can continue evolving without losing the character that made it distinctive.