World Final, 2024

Location: Bucharest, Romania
Closing date: 14 Oktober 2024
Judging dates: 22 Okt 2024 – 6 Nov 2024

THIS COMPETITION WAS ALREADY JUDGED.

The 2024 season World Final is now open for entries.

We are proud to open the final round of the season for the world’s largest chocolate competition.

The World Final brings together all 2024 season’s winners from the main regional and national competitions, to be matched against the best in the world with a fresh round of judging by our panel of top global chocolate judges.

Over our twelve seasons, we have promoted the ever-improving quality of established and new craft chocolate makers and fine chocolatiers from around the world. By recognizing the very best chocolate in the world, we aim to support truly sustainable and traceable cacao farming and of course the very best tasting chocolate.

Judging

Judging will mainly be remote, done by judges at home using our now well-established remote judging protocols, with some local in person judging organized by our regional partners and working with our locally selected judges. This also helps us to include a wide range of top judges from our international panel.

The winners will be announced at an online ceremony on Zoom on Tuesday, 12 November 2024.

Important – Customs information

If you are outside the European Union, you must send your samples to our German partner, Chocolats-de-luxe.de in Hannover. To ensure your entries arrive without any issues, please follow our customs advice carefully.

Rules for importing food into the EU are becoming stricter, particularly with foods containing any animal products, such as milk powder in milk or white chocolate. To avoid problems, delays and extra charges, please pay attention to the customs requirements for your shipment and make sure you complete all the correct details for your customs invoice.

Your samples can still arrive safely if you follow our advice and use the information we provide on the customs invoice detail example, including the correct tariff code for each entry. You will receive this information after you have entered the competition.

You are advised to send products in your normal retail packaging if possible, but mark each package or box with “COMMERCIAL SAMPLE – NOT FOR SALE”. (This is also on the product labels we provide.)

If your product includes milk or white chocolate made with animal milk, you are advised to declare the origin of the milk powder. The same applies if milk is listed in your ingredients. If possible, a letter from your supplier confirming that the milk powder provided comes exclusively from the declared origin will help. The EU accepts products with milk origins from a published list of countries without restrictions. We will send you this list by email, if your milk powder comes from one of these countries you are likely to have fewer problems! If you are using alternative non-dairy/vegan milk powder, please make this clear and do NOT use the word ‚milk‘.

We will try to help as much as possible with customs problems, but if there are any delays or charges these will be your responsibility. By far the best approach is to get the paperwork right in the first place, then there is much more chance of your package going through without any problems.

Origin traceability

We are committed to supporting economically, socially and environmentally sustainable cacao farming where farmers are paid a reasonable price that reflects the work that goes into growing fine cacao. We also believe that the chocolate with the best flavor profiles comes from directly sourced fine cacao. More details about our traceability rules here.

Judging scores and flavor profiles

All World Final entries are rejudged by our top international judges with no reference to previous scores or prizes. All entries will receive comprehensive feedback from our judging system, including the overall product score and standardised feedback statements for all products. We use our advanced interactive evaluation system for judging, which is based on the IICCT flavor profiling system. Scores are weighted to align with specialty coffee scores. Scores will be published on our website for all Grand Jury Finalists and Winners.

Eligibility

Entry into the World Final is by qualification through a Gold, Silver or Bronze prize win at one of our main series of national and regional competitions. (Cacao Country Support competitions and Drinking Chocolate competition are not included). All World Final entries are rejudged by our top international judges with no reference to previous scores or prizes.

Only 2024 winning products may be entered and may not be substituted for alternate products. Different batches are acceptable, as are batch variations and recipe changes that do not significantly alter the product in such a way that it would constitute a different retail product. (For example, if an ingredient is no longer available.) Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

Entrants’ 2024 winning products are automatically listed on your entry page when you register for the World Final, you will not have to register them again. If you need any changes to your product details, please let us know.

The admission fee for this competition is EUR €65 and the fee for each entry is EUR €60. Prices will be converted into local currency by your credit card company, if required.