Businessman transforms Playcenter into theme parks; meet the ‘Brazilian Willy Wonka’

Alexandre Costa, 53, wakes up and goes to sleep thinking about chocolate. Whether it’s the financial solidity that the sweet represents in his life and in the lives of his approximately 22 thousand employees, or the playful passion of his childhood fantasies.

Owner of three factories, around 4,600 stores, two resorts in the interior of São Paulo, a cocoa farm in Linhares (ES) and the recently acquired Playcenter group, he increasingly sees his fascination with chocolate go beyond the simple act of eating a bonbon. Among his most recent plans is to build a R$2 billion theme park in Itu, in the interior of São Paulo.

From his head came hotels with walls decorated in chocolate, a spa with cocoa butter massages, cocoa drinks by the pool and a ride on the “Chocomonstros” rollercoaster, which exudes the smell of chocolate throughout the entire ride.

As you can see, chocolate is almost an obsession for Alê —so much so that, when it came time to choose the name for his rock band (yes, he also has a band)—, he didn’t think twice: Cacau Groove. It’s true that although there is a commercial link with his company as well, he’s not stupid or anything.

A self-made man who began his career working at a gas station, Costa is the guitarist for a group that specializes in covers (with a lot of Legião Urbana in their repertoire) and says that this is yet another dream come true. “I want to immortalize myself through my work,” he says, without modesty.

Uninhibited, he often appears on the cooking show Masterchef (Band), giving his opinion on the dishes prepared by aspiring chefs. In a recent video posted on Tiktok, Alê tells his child self that he now has three factories, talks about his story, and introduces himself to younger audiences. It may sound ridiculous, but the businessman is actually a good actor.

Founder and CEO of the largest franchise chain in Brazil, he has been compared to Willy Wonka, the eccentric chocolate industrialist created in the 1960s by British writer Roald Dahl, who has been played in the movies by Gene Wilder, Johnny Depp and, more recently, Timothée Chalamet.

The films made many children dream of the golden ticket inside the packaging of a candy bar, a passport to the world of their fantastic factory, where rivers of chocolate flowed and people ate chewing gum that never lost its flavor, among other fantasies.

He doesn’t mind the comparison. Quite the opposite. He even dresses up like Willy Wonka, in dark velvet suits and a top hat. “The difference between us is that I live this story for real,” he says.

How did it all start? I started when I was 14, working at a gas station. At 17, I took over a business that my mother had started but didn’t take forward. I made the mistake of selling two thousand Easter eggs that the manufacturer didn’t have to deliver. I borrowed $500 from my uncle and found a way to manufacture them with a lady. It worked out, I paid everyone, kept $500 and invested it. Life has been very generous.

And what about your influencer side? Are you thinking about doing TV? I’ve been called, but I don’t have an agenda. And the internet was started by my daughters. For me, it’s a tool that I use to pass on my values. People need to dream and see people who dreamed and succeeded.

And what did that $500 become? What is your net worth today? I don’t talk about it, I think it’s even inelegant in a country like ours. But it’s certainly much higher than I deserve. But in terms of revenue, this year alone the industry will make R$4 billion, and retail, R$7 billion.

How do you see the current situation of the chocolate industry in Brazil? The quality of the most affordable chocolates in supermarkets is getting worse, right? There is a global problem which is the high price of cocoa. Cocoa was US$ 3 thousand [a tonelada] to US$12,000. Now it has gone down a bit, to US$8,000, but it is still almost triple the price. The milk chocolate in the supermarket has up to 55% sugar, mine has 32%. I have a purpose. And it is not money.

Why did you buy the Playcenter group? I bought it because we are Cacau Show: it has the cocoa dimension and the show dimension. It is more than selling chocolate, it is about moving people, creating connections, emotional memories. I bought nine indoor parks and I am expanding. The dream is to one day be able to have an outdoor park.

The parks are all themed. Chocolate everywhere. Any inspiration from Willy Wonka? The parks and hotels are themed, yes, everything is chocolate-based. We have some similarities. I’m passionate about chocolate and so is he. He has this magic, fantasy. But the difference between us is that he’s a character in a story and I’m living the story.