1981: Josep Cladellas is a young 28-year-old who is passionate about the world of food and agriculture, which is the industry his family works in, but also about confectionery as a personal interest. He thinks he can improve the quality of the nuts that are on offer in the market at that time. He is so convinced that he starts to spend the little spare time he has carrying out tests using artisan methods and developing new procedures to create a higher quality product.
1983: Josep Cladellas founds Crit d’Or two years after carrying out tests using artisan methods and developing his own procedures. He is very successful when he starts roasting nuts and his first customers are extremely complimentary. This encourages him to keep going and he starts to make salted nut products.
1989: After a few years, thanks to his restless mind and his passion for confectionery, he considers designing a line of caramelised and sugar coated nuts that are really made in the artisan way, unlike the industrialised product that had homogenized the market. This range would become one of the most well-known product ranges that the company produces.
Soon afterwards, the first chocolate specialities appear on the market: The almond pearls and the hazelnut pearls (made of caramelised almonds or hazelnuts, white chocolate and nut praline, and cocoa powder) and the hazelnut Chocolates (made of caramelised hazelnuts and covered in dark chocolate with 70% cocoa minimum).
1990: We launch the “Capricis” which soon becomes one of the company’s most renowned products. This product has different layers of caramelised and sugar coated nuts and chocolate specialities.
2005: The next generation joins the company and works together with Josep Cladellas following and spreading his values of excellence, self-drive, and passion for customer service and product quality.
2006: We embark on our exporting journey. The Crit d’Or products reach 20 countries in just a few years.
2007-2009: Two new recipes are created which show great innovation: the caramelised sunflower seeds are launched in 2007 and the caramelised sesame seeds in 2009. They are versatile and can also be used for cooking.
2012: We launch the carton-covered bag range. For the first time, we offer roasted and salted nuts in a carton case, and the front and side opening allows you to see the product.
2013: we launch the Walnut Gems and the Walnut chocolates, which are chocolates made with caramelised walnuts in halves, the heart of the product.