Patchi is a chocolate manufacturer founded in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1974, by Nizar Choucair, an entrepreneur who discovered his love for chocolate at age eleven. Mr. Chocucair’s small family business expanded and opened its first international boutique in Amman, Jordan, the following year. By 1993, Patchi had expanded its divisions beyond chocolate to include silverware, porcelain and printing. As of 2011, the company was one of the most innovative businesses in the Middle East – a region with annual chocolate sales in general exceeding US $4.2 billion – and is expanding into Africa, Asia, the European Union (EU), and the United States of America (USA).