Chocolates, those sweet chocolates we were so crazy about as a child, and are crazy about until now, seemed to be staying with us as we grow old. The history of chocolates would tell us that these chocolates have always been there all our lives that is why we can probably name about 20 or more brands or kinds of chocolates in a matter of minutes. We may run out of names of chocolates we know, but the glorious taste that these chocolates give us will linger on.
Just about anyone who’s ever been a child knows what that dark, melts-in-your-mouth goodness tastes like. They came in different colors, in bags, in boxes, with nuts and shells and marshmallows and creams. They are molded practically into any shape you can just imagine. It is just about time we go down the memory lane and retrace our steps leading us to our top 5 brands of chocolates in the entire history of such delicacy sweets.
Mars
The company that brought us the well-loved Milky Way and the now more popular candy bar, Snickers was established in 1911 by Frank C. Mars whose love for cooking chocolates stemmed from his mother’s hand dipped candies he sold when he was 19. His initial venture failed but with the help of his son, Forrest Mars, and the ingenious Milky Way, introduced as “Chocolate Malted Milk in a Candy Bar, Mars, Incorporated became one of the top-selling candy companies that time.
To this day, Mars, Inc. remains to be a family-owned business and is famous for being very private in their business and personal affairs. M&M’s, Milky Way, Twix, Maltesers, Snickers, Skittles, 3 Musketeers, Combos, Galaxy and Summit Candy bar are just some of the popular chocolates that Mars, Inc. has introduced to chocolate lovers all over the world.
Lindt Sprungli AG
The Lindt Chocolatier is known for Lindor, a chocolate with smooth filling that comes in a bar or balls introduce in 1955. Despite the seemingly young popularity of the Lindor, this company has been around since 1845. The father and son tandem of David Sprüngli-Schwarz and Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann established a tiny confectionary store in Zurich. They eventually built a factory of hard chocolates.
Due to the financial crisis, company decided to close about 65% of its stores in the United States on March 17, 2009. Today, they factories in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and the United States.
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
The second oldest manufacturer of chocolates in the United States was born in 1817 through the efforts of Domenico Ghirardelli. His humble beginnings saw Uruguay and later Lima, Peru where he opened a confectionary store. It was only in 1849 when he moved to California and sold confections to miners. After only a few years the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was incorporated in 1852. His empire grew in San Francisco until they moved to San Leandro in 1965.
On the other hand, it was in 1998 that Lindt Sprugli AG acquired the company while maintaining its full subsidiary status. Until now, millions of people all over the world are still so passionate about eating the Lindt chocolates, the kind of chocolate that when you put in your mouth, it melts and the sweet taste lingers. That is how I remember eating Lindt chocolates even when I was still a child. That first bite you will never forget! Really the history of chocolates has its own way of etching memories on our minds!
Two Giant Players In The History Of Chocolates
So many players abound in the industry of chocolates, and through the entire history of chocolates, they were Hershey’s and Nestle that more or less, monopolized the major market shares in the chocolate industry.
Hershey
Where did the unique name of Hershey’s really come from? What is the relevance of the name to the chocolates, anyway? It has been said that it was after a man who made the delicious chocolates which we now call and popularly know as Hershey’s. That is why it is only fit to name a town in honor of the man who created one of the oldest and most stable chocolate companies in the United States. Milton S. Hershey began an apprentice confectioner in 1876, and braved to establish his own business which drastically failed in a matter of years. He returned to Pennsylvania from New York and tried his hand at selling caramel candies which he sold in 1900 to venture into chocolates once again. He then introduced the famous Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar which became a phenomenal success.
In 1907, chocolates dropped to form a flat bottom and cone shape with tips was introduced as Hershey’s Kisses which were painstakingly wrapped by hand one by one. It was only in 1921 that the packaging machine for Hershey’s kisses was invented and therefore, started making the process much easier. Then they soon added the signature white ribbon that we saw as a kid, and still see, as a guarantee of a genuine Hershey product.
And today, the company is not just famous for the bar and the little mounds of chocolate kisses. Chocolates such as Reese’s, Mr. Goodbar, Hershey’s Minatures and Cadbury are only few of the most popular brands that are original Hershey’s.
Nestle
Unlike the other four companies, Nestle did not start as a chocolate manufacturer. In 1860’s, a pharmacist named Henri Nestle developed a food for premature babies which catapulted his popularity in Europe with the product called Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé.
In the early 1900’s, Nestle joined forces with a milk company and by the time World War I broke out, the demand for their products increased substantially. The same milk that they produced was used by Daniel Peter, a friend of Nestle, who used the found the correct ratio of milk to chocolates. Milk Chocolates were manufactured in 1904.
Nestle after World War II
When the Second World War broke out, Nestle was affected with sales on their dairy products dropping from $20million to just about $6 million in a year. Steadfast, Nestle introduced what they thought would be popular amongst the military currently waged against each other, Nescafe.
Year after the war, Nestle acquired many companies and ventured into other types of products. It is believed to be the first company ever to develop the right mixture of milk and chocolate and is now famous for products such as Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger and Nestle Toll Houses.
It’s been a century since men of great imagination found a way to mass-produce what was once only available to the nobles. They managed not only to give simple man a taste of the wonderful chocolate, but they also brought forth the brands we still enjoy today. The history of chocolate is truly as rich as its taste, and certainly more generations still yet to come shall continue to enjoy the tasty goodness of chocolates.
