1880: ten generations of the family of the most expensive nougat in the world and the favorite of sheikhs and 'royals'

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Labeling his nougat "the most expensive in the world" was a

The Alicante businessman came to that conclusion after doing the math and verifying that his

hardly paid off if he added up what the almond and honey and labor cost him. It was the post-war years and the Spanish were not in for parties, but he decided to continue

.

His idea was embodied in the

during a trip to Paris, when a clerk on the Champs Elysees convinced him to

. "A man like you deserves a unique tie," he said, and Sirvent took it away. "My grandfather was a gourmet and he liked to dress well.

, 'the most expensive in the world', he used to say, and there he reinforced his idea of ​​exclusivity. The slogan was a success," recalls

his grandson and ninth generation of the nougat family.

In addition to 1880, which owes its name to the year in which the recipe was written down, its

-the machine invented to make Jijona nougat- also comes out

( What a great nougat, what a great nougat!).

1880 keeps alive the philosophy of the epicurean Juan Antonio, because this year they have launched an exclusive edition to reinterpret his slogan with nougat containing such exquisite raw materials as the

(Italy), the

and

Each of these nougats, which are made to order,

. Sirvent does not want to specify how many tablets have been sold, but assures that they have exceeded expectations. "The three have left the R&D laboratory of the Jijona factory after months of testing until they have found the combinations that, they assure, are His favorite is the Jijona nougat (the soft one) with

(900 euros per kilo). The most demanded so far, especially in the Arab market, is being Alicante (the hard one) with white truffle. Perhaps because it has

, a real

.

The sophisticated trio can be seen (not tasted) in the

four months ago in the center of Madrid, on Calle Mayor, one of the most touristy in the capital.

There they are exhibited alongside other more traditional and affordable tablets.

And the thing is that

.

"It is a

product from

Spain, with a great reputation", justifies Sirvent.

The president of the nougat company assures that they have no intention of opening more stores, but that they were very excited to return to Madrid, where the family already had a place that was closed after the Civil War.

Alicante nougat with white truffle and gold leaf, which costs 250 euros.

José Manuel is the

. Almost 300 years later, 1880 is still in his hands thanks to an

that has avoided family quarrels and has allowed

At least until now, because

Isabel and Beatriz, the first to take the reins of the company. The first is

daughter of his only brother, who died at the age of 25. "I'm very proud of them, it was about time the Sirvent women took over." They are both 28 years old and internationally trained, like José Manuel himself, who

, or his father, who did

. Jijona, he assures, was a

and nougat entrepreneurs were very enterprising people who in the 19th century traveled to New York or Paris and

Almonds and honey have no secrets for him.

He was born in his family's factory, like his grandfather and father, and at the age of 24 he took over the reins of the company.

"My parents' house was in the factory, you didn't have access from the street and you entered through the store or through the office," he says.

He also remembers the

that his mother gave him every day, or how

.

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The family faces the Christmas campaign with optimism after a 2020 in which they suffered the consequences of the pandemic with the closure of

(one of their points of sale) and the reduced family gatherings. For this year they foresee a

and the manufacture of 2.5 million kilos of nougat and another half a million Christmas sweets.

The

remains its workhorse -the

- but will gradually mitigating the increase in exports.

The United States and Latin America are their main markets, followed by Europe and the Arab countries, where they have

.

And they are not the only ones.

Sirvent does not give names but assures that they have many celebrities on their agenda.

Also

and not only Arabs

.

Guess what?

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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