Society and lifestyle, Business and economy, Technology and industry
Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss transnational food and drink company headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest food company in the world, measured by revenues and other metrics, since 2014. It ranked No. 64 on the Fortune Global 500 in 2017 and No. 33 on the 2016 edition of the Forbes Global 2000 list of largest public companies.
Mars is an American global manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$33 billion in annual sales in 2015, and is ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States, the company is entirely owned by the Mars family. Mars operates in five business segments around the world: Mars Wrigley Confectionary, Petcare, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience, the company's life sciences division.
Business and economy, Technology and industry
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company wholly owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Uxbridge, West London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
Mondelēz International, Inc., is an American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage company based in Illinois which employs about 83,000 people around the world. It consists of the global snack and food brands of the former Kraft Foods Inc. after the October 2012 spin-off of its North American grocery operations. The Mondelez name, adopted in 2012, was suggested by Kraft Foods employees and is derived from the Latin word mundus ("world") and delez, a fanciful modification of the word "delicious".
Society and lifestyle, Business and economy, Technology and industry
The Hershey Company, and commonly called Hershey's, is an American company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world, it also manufactures baked products, like cookies. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hershey's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. Hershey's chocolate is available across the United States, due to their wide network of distribution. They have three mega distribution centers, with modern technology and labor management systems. Hershey's products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide. In addition, Hershey is a member of the World Cocoa Foundation. It is also associated with the Hersheypark Stadium and the Giant Center.
Ferrero SpA is an Italian manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products and it is the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. It was founded in 1946 in Alba, Piedmont, Italy, by Pietro Ferrero, a confectioner and small-time pastry maker who laid the groundwork for Nutella and famously added hazelnut to save money on chocolate. The company saw a period of tremendous growth and success under Pietro's son Michele Ferrero, who in turn handed over the daily operations to his sons. His son Pietro, who oversaw global business, died on April 18, 2011, in a cycling accident in South Africa at the age of 47.
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more commonly known as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets.
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is a United States division of Swiss confectioner Lindt & Sprüngli. The company was founded by and is named after Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli, who, after working in South America, moved to California. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was incorporated in 1852, and is the third-oldest chocolate company in the United States, after Baker's Chocolate and Whitman's.
Godiva Chocolatier is a Belgian manufacturer of chocolates and related products. Godiva, founded in 1926, was purchased by the Turkish Yıldız Holding, owner of the Ülker Group, on November 20, 2007. Godiva owns and operates more than 600 retail boutiques and shops in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia and is available via over 10,000 specialty retailers.
See's Candies is an American manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolates. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California, in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San Francisco, California. See's kitchens are at its headquarters and at a second location in Los Angeles, where there are also retail shops. It also has an office in Carson, California. The company has been owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation since January 1972.
Food, Business and economy, Technology and industry
Ritter Sport is a brand of chocolate from the Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG. Company, which is headquartered in Waldenbuch, Germany.
Roshen Confectionery Corporation is a Ukrainian confectionery manufacturing group, controlled by Petro Poroshenko. The leading manufacturer of confectionery products in the country, it operates facilities in the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Vinnytsia and Kremenchuk, as well as in Budapest, Hungary and Klaipėda, Lithuania. The name of the company was derived from the last name of its owner, Poroshenko.
Max Brenner is a worldwide chocolate restaurant and retail brand headquartered in New York City, United States. The company operates more than 50 locations internationally, the majority (38) of which are in Australia. Other locations include eight in Israel, five in the United States, one each in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Bethesda, MD and Paramus, NJ, as well as in Japan, Singapore, Russia, and China. The company's mantra is that it is creating a new chocolate culture by inviting people to watch, taste and smell its love story. It specializes in decadent, chocolate-based desserts such as fondue, crepes, milkshakes, waffles, and hot chocolate, many of which it serves in signature utensils. Max Brenner operates as a subsidiary of the Strauss Group, Israel’s second-largest food and beverage company.
August Storck KG is a German sweets producer with headquarters in Berlin, owned by Axel Oberwelland. Its subsidiary in the UK has been the company Bendicks in Winchester since 1988. The main facility of Storck in Germany is in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, one is located in Skanderborg, Denmark and another one in Ohrdruf, Germany.
Thorntons is a British chocolate brand established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Thorntons Limited has been owned by Italian company Ferrero SpA since 2015. Net income in its annual report of 2016 was reported at a loss of - £30.8 million with a drop in staff and number of shops across the UK. When Cadburys became part of a non-confectionery specific group, Thorntons became the largest confectionery-only parent corporation in the United Kingdom; while it retains a minority of sales of its established toffee and fudge, the group shifted its specialism, after post-war rationing ended, into chocolate and developed wide Continental, Swiss and Belgian chocolate ranges which form the bulk its sales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. While cutting back on its high street presence, sales and production have increased and a small minority of its shops have started afresh or diversified to become cafés. In June 2015 Thorntons was bought by Ferrero SpA for £112m. Thorntons changed their trading name from Thorntons PLC to Thorntons Ltd in Nov 2016 and now their registered office is Ferrero UK Ltd in Greenford, UK.