| History Of Chocolate 1900 - 2006 |
1900 - Milton Hershey sells off the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1,000,000 so that he can concentrate on
producing milk chocolate.
1901 - Idaho Candy Company opens their doors. Makers of the Idaho Spud Bar and The Old Faithful.
HJ Packer opens its state of the art factory in Bristol, England. It is the first factory to employ sprinklers in the
confectionary business.
Suchard in Switzerland launches thier milk chocolate product, Milka.
1902 - Stollwerck registers as a Public Limited Company.
1904 - Emil Brach opens his Chicago shop " Brach's Palace of Sweets" effectively starting the Brach's Company.
William Neilson opens a two story factory attached to his house to produce ice cream in Gladstone ( a suburb of
Toronto) Canada.
1905 - Droste enters the American market.
Hershey opens its factory in Derry Township Pennsylvania. This is the beginning of Hershey Pennsylvania.
1906 - Stollwerck registers Alpia as a brand name.
William Neilson's ice cream factory in Canada shifts to the production of chocolate.
1907 - Giovanni Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli team up to form Perugina in the Italian town of the same name.
Maud Borup starts selling her homemade chocolates from a table in the back of a flower shop in St. Paul , Minnesota.
Hershey introduces the Hershey Kiss.
1908 - Theodore Tobler begins production on the Toblerone chocolate bar introducing its triangular design which is still
used today.
1909 - Jan Coenraad Droste retires.
1911 - Callebaut starts the production of chocolate bars.
Frank and Ethel Mars begin making and selling butter cream candies from their house in Tacoma, Washington.
Wrigley enters the United Kingdom market.
1915 - The Peyrano family starts producing chocolate in Turin Italy.
1919 - Rebecca Ruth Candies opens in Frankfort, Kentucky.
1920 - The Barry Group starts cocoa processing in Meulan , France.
1921 - On the south side of Chicago three partners, Herman Glickman, Harry Martin and Max Weiss founded Queen
Anne Chocolates.
1922 - Gummy Bears are introduced in Germany by Haribo
1923 - Droste introduces there advertising character "pastille man" designed by Jan Wiegman.
Lacarre takes over the Barry Groups cocoa operation Cocoa Barry.
The Milky Way bar was introduced by Forrest Mars.
Russell and Clara Stover began a candy business in their home in Denver, Colorado. The original candy, is marketed
as "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies."
1925 - Joseph Richart sets up his laboratory in Lyons France and the Richart firm is born.
Hershey introduces Mr. Goodbar.
1926 - Terry's of York begins marketing chocolate covered apples.
Joseph Draps opens Godiva in Brussels Belgium.
Hershey introduces Hershey's Syrup.
The original Milky Way bar sells for five cents.
1927 - Postum acquires Bakers Chocolate. Two years later Postum becomes General Foods.
Harry Lea opens his first shop in Sydney's Haymarket beginning the Darrell Lea Company.
1928 - Hershey introduces chocolate chips.
H.B. “Harry” Reese starts to produce his peanut butter cup in Pennsylvania.
1929 - El Rey opens for business in Venezuela.
1930 - The Snickers Bar is introduced and sells for a nickel.
Pease's Candy starts manufacturing.
Harold Oswin wins an employee contest in Canada and invents the Crispy Crunch Bar which is still produced by
Cadbury - Adams today.
1932 - Cadbury begins production in Ireland.
1936 - The Milky Way vanilla bar has its name changed to the Forever Yours Bar.
Ruth Booe of Rebecca Ruth Candies in Frankfort, Kentucky invents the Bourbon Ball.
1937 - Economy Candy opens up in New York City.
1938 - Hershey introduces the Krackel bar.
1939 - Perugina introduced to America at the New York Worlds Fair.
Brach's becomes the leading producer of bulk candy in the United States.
1941 - M&M's are released in cardboard tubes for use by GI's.
1942 - Aiguebelle - Compagnie Cherifienne de Chocolaterie opens for business in Morocco.
1944 - The Snickers factory switches to machinery that wraps the bars ending hand wrapping.
1947 - NECCO opens shop and the NECCO Wafer is born.
Jan and Martinus Droste grandsons of Droste's founder take over the Company and guide it through the rebuilding
process after World War ll.
1948 - Michel Cluizel begins production in France.
Alex Doumak invents the equipment to mass produce marshmallows by squeezing the ingredients through a tube and
then having the long resulting long confection cut into pieces.
Auguste Pralus opens his patisserie.
M&M's change their packaging from cardboard tubes to the brown bag that is used now.
Queen Anne adds Cordial Cherries which quickly becomes its most popular product.
R.M. Palmer opens its doors.
1950 - Dulces de La Rosa starts up in Mexico. Today they manufacture over 200 different products including BB and
Paleta chocolate.
1952 - Cocoa Barry opens processing plants in Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
1954 - M&M Peanut Candies are introduced.
1955 - French accolade of Meilleur Ouvrier de France is awarded to Auguste Pralus.
1956 - Raymond Bonnat takes over the Bonnat firm.
1957 - Biscomisr opens shop in Egypt.
1958 - Brach's begins the concept of "pick a mix" which is now common place "the customer mixes there candy"
1960 - M&M's Peanut Chocolates add 3 new colors Red, Green and Yellow to the original Brown.
1961 - Droste opens a new factory.
1963 - Covertina begins operation in Egypt.
Pfatisch confectioner’s shop, located in Corso Vittorio taken over by the Peyrano family and is renamed Peyrano
Pfatisch.
1964 - Stollwerck purchases the Swiss firm Alprose.
Nutella invented in Piedmont Italy.
1966 - Godiva starts distributing their chocolates in the United States.
1968 - Valor launches the Chocolate Puro line of barred chocolate using the word "Puro" (Pure) to show that there bars
don't use vegetable fats in the place of cocoa.
Snicker's fun size, mini size, are introduced making supplying candy for Trick or Treaters easy.
1969 - Stollwerck purchases Germany’s oldest chocolate factory Hildebrand in Berlin.
Louis Ward purchases Russell Stover.
1970 - Cacao Barry acquires the Italian firm Sicao.
Swiss chocolate companies Suchard and Tobler merge to become Suchard Tobler.
Hershey acquires the manufacturing and marketing rights to English candy company Rowntree MacKintosh’s products.
Snicker's Munch Bar introduced.
1972 - The little M&M characters are introduced.
1973 - Valor Chocolates of Spain becomes a public limited Company.
Hershey starts its tour of its facility at Hershey World.
1974 - Cacao Barry acquires the Belgian firm Goemaere.
1975 - Gianni Gertosio starts making giandujotti in Turin Italy.
1976 - Stollwerck purchases Waldbaur, Stuttgart and gets ownership of there numerous brands.
Jean Galler starts making chocolate in the back of his father's pastry shop in Liege , Belgium.
Red M&M' s are dropped when Red Dye #2 is declared dangerous. M&M's did not use Red Dye #2 but to avoid
confusion among consumers red was dropped. Orange M&M's debuted.
1977 - Droste taken over by Standard Brands an American Company, the firm loses its Royal designation.
SOTUCHOC Société Tunisienne de Chocolaterie starts producing chocolate in Tunisia.
Hershey acquires Y&S Candies, makers of Twizzlers licorice.
1978 - Neuhaus is taken over by the Poncelet brothers.
1979 - Stollwerck takes over Sprengel which was founded in Germany in 1851.
1981 - Stollwerck purchases Schubert Marzipan.
In August Biagio Settepani takes over and starts to run Bruno Bakery in New York.
M&M's are chosen by the first Space Shuttle astronauts as food for their journey.
1982 - Jacques Chocolaterie S.A. in Eupen, Belgium joins the Stollwerck group.
Neuchatel Chocolates opens up in Switzerland.
Cacao Barry taken over by Sucres et Denrées
Jacobs Kaffee merges with Suchard-Tobler and form Jacobs Suchard.
1985 - Cacao Barry acquires the Dutch firm Bensdorp.
1986 - Stollwerck and Manner/Vienna begin their partnership.
Chocolaterie BIMO starts producing chocolate products in Algeria.
Hershey acquires Dietrich Corp.’s confectionery operations.
1987 - The Poncelet brothers sell Neuhaus to Raffinerie Tirlemontoise.
Cacao Barry opens Meulan II chocolate factory in France.
Cote d'Or merges with Suchard.
After 11 years of unfair exile Red rejoins the other M&M colors.
1988 - Droste taken over by Sara Lee.
Andrea Slitti starts to produce chocolate in Tuscany Italy.
Hershey acquires Peter Paul/Cadbury’s, makers of Almond Joy and Mounds bars, U.S. confectionery operations
1989 - Neuhaus merges with Mondose makers of liquor flavored chocolates.
Dolfin opens for business in Belgium.
The Forever Yours Bar is renamed the Milky Way Dark Bar.
The Snickers Ice Cream Bar is introduced.
1990 - Stollwerck is the first western chocolate producer to introduce a sales force into what was then Eastern Germany.
November 16, Valor opens its renovated factory with an investment of over 400 million pesetas.
1991 - Stollwerck takes over East Germany’s largest chocolate factory, Thüringer Schokoladewerk GmbH in Saalfeld.
Green & Black’s starts producing Organic chocolate
François Pralus leads the family business into the world of gourmet chocolate.
1993 - Domori starts up in Italy.
1994 - Jean Galler becomes the official Belgian Royal Warrant Holder for his chocolate products.
1995 - Stollwerck opens it biscuit factory Székesfehérvár, Hungary becoming the largest chocolate firm and second
largest biscuit producer in Hungary.
Cacao Barry constructs its San Pedro bean processing facility in the Ivory Coast.
In October Stollwerck opens a factory in Poznan, Poland to produce Alpengold chocolate bars.
1996 - Stollwerck revamps thier Cologne , Germany factory investing heavily in new technology and achieving a packing
rate of 1,000 chocolates per minute.
In December Stollwerck finishes construction of a chocolate factory in Pokrov, Russia, near Moscow.
Cacao Barry from France and Callebaut from Belgium merge.
M&M minis are introduced.
1997 - January 01, Droste was sold to the Swiss based company Hosta.
January 02, Stollwerck opens its Pokrov , Russia factory.
In August Francois Payard opens his Lexington Avenue , New York Bistro.
Stollwerck purchases the Sarotti chocolate brand from Nestle.
Green the first female M&M is introduced.
M&M'S WORLD opens on the strip in Las Vegas. The store sells nothing but M&M licensed products.
1998 - The Milky Way Bar receives Kosher certification.
1999 - Stollwerck purchases Gubor with factories in Mülheim and Munstertal Germany.
Stollwerck signs a joint co-operation deal taking over the distribution of all United Biscuit products in Germany.
Grenada Chocolate Company opens up for business.
M&M'S Crispy Chocolate Candies are introduced.
2000 - His Royal Highness King Albert ll grants Neuhaus Chocolates the Accredited Title of Supplier to The Belgian
Crown.
The Milky Way Dark Bar is renamed the Milky Way Midnight Bar.
2001 - New Tree Chocolate begins operations in Belgium
Snickers Cruncher Bar is introduced.
Cocoa planted in North Queensland, Australia.
2002 - Barry Callebaut acquires the German Stollwerck Group.
Milky Way chocolate covered caramels are introduced.
The Snickers Almond Bar is introduced.
2003 - Barry Callebaut purchases Brachs.
2004 - Grenada Chocolate Company receives Organic Certification from the USDA.
Snickers Marathon Energy Bar introduced.
2005 - September , Sweet Riot begins production of their Cacao nibs.
2006 - Maud Borup closes its last retail location in St. Paul , Minnesota.
Queen Anne is purchased by World’s Finest Chocolate.
producing milk chocolate.
1901 - Idaho Candy Company opens their doors. Makers of the Idaho Spud Bar and The Old Faithful.
HJ Packer opens its state of the art factory in Bristol, England. It is the first factory to employ sprinklers in the
confectionary business.
Suchard in Switzerland launches thier milk chocolate product, Milka.
1902 - Stollwerck registers as a Public Limited Company.
1904 - Emil Brach opens his Chicago shop " Brach's Palace of Sweets" effectively starting the Brach's Company.
William Neilson opens a two story factory attached to his house to produce ice cream in Gladstone ( a suburb of
Toronto) Canada.
1905 - Droste enters the American market.
Hershey opens its factory in Derry Township Pennsylvania. This is the beginning of Hershey Pennsylvania.
1906 - Stollwerck registers Alpia as a brand name.
William Neilson's ice cream factory in Canada shifts to the production of chocolate.
1907 - Giovanni Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli team up to form Perugina in the Italian town of the same name.
Maud Borup starts selling her homemade chocolates from a table in the back of a flower shop in St. Paul , Minnesota.
Hershey introduces the Hershey Kiss.
1908 - Theodore Tobler begins production on the Toblerone chocolate bar introducing its triangular design which is still
used today.
1909 - Jan Coenraad Droste retires.
1911 - Callebaut starts the production of chocolate bars.
Frank and Ethel Mars begin making and selling butter cream candies from their house in Tacoma, Washington.
Wrigley enters the United Kingdom market.
1915 - The Peyrano family starts producing chocolate in Turin Italy.
1919 - Rebecca Ruth Candies opens in Frankfort, Kentucky.
1920 - The Barry Group starts cocoa processing in Meulan , France.
1921 - On the south side of Chicago three partners, Herman Glickman, Harry Martin and Max Weiss founded Queen
Anne Chocolates.
1922 - Gummy Bears are introduced in Germany by Haribo
1923 - Droste introduces there advertising character "pastille man" designed by Jan Wiegman.
Lacarre takes over the Barry Groups cocoa operation Cocoa Barry.
The Milky Way bar was introduced by Forrest Mars.
Russell and Clara Stover began a candy business in their home in Denver, Colorado. The original candy, is marketed
as "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies."
1925 - Joseph Richart sets up his laboratory in Lyons France and the Richart firm is born.
Hershey introduces Mr. Goodbar.
1926 - Terry's of York begins marketing chocolate covered apples.
Joseph Draps opens Godiva in Brussels Belgium.
Hershey introduces Hershey's Syrup.
The original Milky Way bar sells for five cents.
1927 - Postum acquires Bakers Chocolate. Two years later Postum becomes General Foods.
Harry Lea opens his first shop in Sydney's Haymarket beginning the Darrell Lea Company.
1928 - Hershey introduces chocolate chips.
H.B. “Harry” Reese starts to produce his peanut butter cup in Pennsylvania.
1929 - El Rey opens for business in Venezuela.
1930 - The Snickers Bar is introduced and sells for a nickel.
Pease's Candy starts manufacturing.
Harold Oswin wins an employee contest in Canada and invents the Crispy Crunch Bar which is still produced by
Cadbury - Adams today.
1932 - Cadbury begins production in Ireland.
1936 - The Milky Way vanilla bar has its name changed to the Forever Yours Bar.
Ruth Booe of Rebecca Ruth Candies in Frankfort, Kentucky invents the Bourbon Ball.
1937 - Economy Candy opens up in New York City.
1938 - Hershey introduces the Krackel bar.
1939 - Perugina introduced to America at the New York Worlds Fair.
Brach's becomes the leading producer of bulk candy in the United States.
1941 - M&M's are released in cardboard tubes for use by GI's.
1942 - Aiguebelle - Compagnie Cherifienne de Chocolaterie opens for business in Morocco.
1944 - The Snickers factory switches to machinery that wraps the bars ending hand wrapping.
1947 - NECCO opens shop and the NECCO Wafer is born.
Jan and Martinus Droste grandsons of Droste's founder take over the Company and guide it through the rebuilding
process after World War ll.
1948 - Michel Cluizel begins production in France.
Alex Doumak invents the equipment to mass produce marshmallows by squeezing the ingredients through a tube and
then having the long resulting long confection cut into pieces.
Auguste Pralus opens his patisserie.
M&M's change their packaging from cardboard tubes to the brown bag that is used now.
Queen Anne adds Cordial Cherries which quickly becomes its most popular product.
R.M. Palmer opens its doors.
1950 - Dulces de La Rosa starts up in Mexico. Today they manufacture over 200 different products including BB and
Paleta chocolate.
1952 - Cocoa Barry opens processing plants in Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
1954 - M&M Peanut Candies are introduced.
1955 - French accolade of Meilleur Ouvrier de France is awarded to Auguste Pralus.
1956 - Raymond Bonnat takes over the Bonnat firm.
1957 - Biscomisr opens shop in Egypt.
1958 - Brach's begins the concept of "pick a mix" which is now common place "the customer mixes there candy"
1960 - M&M's Peanut Chocolates add 3 new colors Red, Green and Yellow to the original Brown.
1961 - Droste opens a new factory.
1963 - Covertina begins operation in Egypt.
Pfatisch confectioner’s shop, located in Corso Vittorio taken over by the Peyrano family and is renamed Peyrano
Pfatisch.
1964 - Stollwerck purchases the Swiss firm Alprose.
Nutella invented in Piedmont Italy.
1966 - Godiva starts distributing their chocolates in the United States.
1968 - Valor launches the Chocolate Puro line of barred chocolate using the word "Puro" (Pure) to show that there bars
don't use vegetable fats in the place of cocoa.
Snicker's fun size, mini size, are introduced making supplying candy for Trick or Treaters easy.
1969 - Stollwerck purchases Germany’s oldest chocolate factory Hildebrand in Berlin.
Louis Ward purchases Russell Stover.
1970 - Cacao Barry acquires the Italian firm Sicao.
Swiss chocolate companies Suchard and Tobler merge to become Suchard Tobler.
Hershey acquires the manufacturing and marketing rights to English candy company Rowntree MacKintosh’s products.
Snicker's Munch Bar introduced.
1972 - The little M&M characters are introduced.
1973 - Valor Chocolates of Spain becomes a public limited Company.
Hershey starts its tour of its facility at Hershey World.
1974 - Cacao Barry acquires the Belgian firm Goemaere.
1975 - Gianni Gertosio starts making giandujotti in Turin Italy.
1976 - Stollwerck purchases Waldbaur, Stuttgart and gets ownership of there numerous brands.
Jean Galler starts making chocolate in the back of his father's pastry shop in Liege , Belgium.
Red M&M' s are dropped when Red Dye #2 is declared dangerous. M&M's did not use Red Dye #2 but to avoid
confusion among consumers red was dropped. Orange M&M's debuted.
1977 - Droste taken over by Standard Brands an American Company, the firm loses its Royal designation.
SOTUCHOC Société Tunisienne de Chocolaterie starts producing chocolate in Tunisia.
Hershey acquires Y&S Candies, makers of Twizzlers licorice.
1978 - Neuhaus is taken over by the Poncelet brothers.
1979 - Stollwerck takes over Sprengel which was founded in Germany in 1851.
1981 - Stollwerck purchases Schubert Marzipan.
In August Biagio Settepani takes over and starts to run Bruno Bakery in New York.
M&M's are chosen by the first Space Shuttle astronauts as food for their journey.
1982 - Jacques Chocolaterie S.A. in Eupen, Belgium joins the Stollwerck group.
Neuchatel Chocolates opens up in Switzerland.
Cacao Barry taken over by Sucres et Denrées
Jacobs Kaffee merges with Suchard-Tobler and form Jacobs Suchard.
1985 - Cacao Barry acquires the Dutch firm Bensdorp.
1986 - Stollwerck and Manner/Vienna begin their partnership.
Chocolaterie BIMO starts producing chocolate products in Algeria.
Hershey acquires Dietrich Corp.’s confectionery operations.
1987 - The Poncelet brothers sell Neuhaus to Raffinerie Tirlemontoise.
Cacao Barry opens Meulan II chocolate factory in France.
Cote d'Or merges with Suchard.
After 11 years of unfair exile Red rejoins the other M&M colors.
1988 - Droste taken over by Sara Lee.
Andrea Slitti starts to produce chocolate in Tuscany Italy.
Hershey acquires Peter Paul/Cadbury’s, makers of Almond Joy and Mounds bars, U.S. confectionery operations
1989 - Neuhaus merges with Mondose makers of liquor flavored chocolates.
Dolfin opens for business in Belgium.
The Forever Yours Bar is renamed the Milky Way Dark Bar.
The Snickers Ice Cream Bar is introduced.
1990 - Stollwerck is the first western chocolate producer to introduce a sales force into what was then Eastern Germany.
November 16, Valor opens its renovated factory with an investment of over 400 million pesetas.
1991 - Stollwerck takes over East Germany’s largest chocolate factory, Thüringer Schokoladewerk GmbH in Saalfeld.
Green & Black’s starts producing Organic chocolate
François Pralus leads the family business into the world of gourmet chocolate.
1993 - Domori starts up in Italy.
1994 - Jean Galler becomes the official Belgian Royal Warrant Holder for his chocolate products.
1995 - Stollwerck opens it biscuit factory Székesfehérvár, Hungary becoming the largest chocolate firm and second
largest biscuit producer in Hungary.
Cacao Barry constructs its San Pedro bean processing facility in the Ivory Coast.
In October Stollwerck opens a factory in Poznan, Poland to produce Alpengold chocolate bars.
1996 - Stollwerck revamps thier Cologne , Germany factory investing heavily in new technology and achieving a packing
rate of 1,000 chocolates per minute.
In December Stollwerck finishes construction of a chocolate factory in Pokrov, Russia, near Moscow.
Cacao Barry from France and Callebaut from Belgium merge.
M&M minis are introduced.
1997 - January 01, Droste was sold to the Swiss based company Hosta.
January 02, Stollwerck opens its Pokrov , Russia factory.
In August Francois Payard opens his Lexington Avenue , New York Bistro.
Stollwerck purchases the Sarotti chocolate brand from Nestle.
Green the first female M&M is introduced.
M&M'S WORLD opens on the strip in Las Vegas. The store sells nothing but M&M licensed products.
1998 - The Milky Way Bar receives Kosher certification.
1999 - Stollwerck purchases Gubor with factories in Mülheim and Munstertal Germany.
Stollwerck signs a joint co-operation deal taking over the distribution of all United Biscuit products in Germany.
Grenada Chocolate Company opens up for business.
M&M'S Crispy Chocolate Candies are introduced.
2000 - His Royal Highness King Albert ll grants Neuhaus Chocolates the Accredited Title of Supplier to The Belgian
Crown.
The Milky Way Dark Bar is renamed the Milky Way Midnight Bar.
2001 - New Tree Chocolate begins operations in Belgium
Snickers Cruncher Bar is introduced.
Cocoa planted in North Queensland, Australia.
2002 - Barry Callebaut acquires the German Stollwerck Group.
Milky Way chocolate covered caramels are introduced.
The Snickers Almond Bar is introduced.
2003 - Barry Callebaut purchases Brachs.
2004 - Grenada Chocolate Company receives Organic Certification from the USDA.
Snickers Marathon Energy Bar introduced.
2005 - September , Sweet Riot begins production of their Cacao nibs.
2006 - Maud Borup closes its last retail location in St. Paul , Minnesota.
Queen Anne is purchased by World’s Finest Chocolate.
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