--- title: ISIS the Belgian Chocolate Is Changing Name description: Belgian chocolate maker changing its name ISIS canonical: https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-23T17:25:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:14:00.371Z og:title: A Belgian Chocolate Brand Called ISIS Is Going to Change Its Name Now og:description: Customers have reportedly been mixing up the chocolatier with the terrorist organization og:url: https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Belgian Chocolate Brand Called ISIS Is Going to Change Its Name Now twitter:description: Customers have reportedly been mixing up the chocolatier with the terrorist organization twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # A Belgian Chocolate Company Called ISIS Has Decided to Change Its Name  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 23, 2014 5:25 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 23, 2014 5:25 PM UTC Customers have gone from sweet to sour on a Belgian chocolatier because it has the same name as an Islamist militant group. The Belgian chocolate maker’s name ISIS is supposed to stand for Italy and Switzerland, where the founder learned how to make chocolate, [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/us-belgium-chocolate-isis-idUSKCN0IC11G20141023) reports. Its [website](http://www.isischocolates.be/news/)—URL “www.isischocolates.be”—says, “Ever since 1923, we at ISIS have been making premium Belgian chocolate with the utmost dedication” and talks about how the company’s chocolates create “unforgettable moments.” But customers have been calling to say they don’t want to buy the chocolates anymore because the brand, which dates back to 1923, now makes them think of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), the chocolatier’s marketing manager Desiree Libeert told [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/us-belgium-chocolate-isis-idUSKCN0IC11G20141023). “We chose ISIS as that was the brand name of our pralines and tablets,” Libeert said. “Had we known there was a terrorist organization with the same name, we would have never chosen that.” The company will now be known as “Libeert,” the owners’ family name. Hopefully that will make the outrage melt away. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/"},"headline":"A Belgian Chocolate Company Called ISIS Has Decided to Change Its Name","datePublished":"2014-10-23T17:25:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:00.371Z","description":"Customers have reportedly been mixing up the chocolatier with the terrorist organization","url":"https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3534579/isis-belgium-chocolate/","name":"A Belgian Chocolate Company Called ISIS Has Decided to Change Its Name"}}]}] ```