Ghirardelli sources it’s cocoa beans through the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program, launched in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km², Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf o…
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres west of the mainland. Th…
What is the history of Ghirardelli Chocolate?
In 1865, according to the company, Ghirardelli invented the "Broma" process, which produces more intense chocolate flavor than other chocolate-making techniques. By 1884, the company was exporting its chocolate to Japan, Mexico, and China.
What kind of candy does Ghirardelli sell?
In the 1990s Ghirardelli increased its retail business, selling bagged candies in grocery stores and other outlets, as well as Ghirardelli brand baking chocolate and cocoa. Ghirardelli also operates several ice cream and chocolate stores, mainly aimed at the tourist trade.
What is the difference between Hershey and Ghirardelli?
The famous Hershey Company wasn't be established until 42 years after Ghirardelli, in 1894, according to Luxury Lifestyle Magazine. Today, the company is a world-recognized brand with a successful retail and wholesale business, selling bagged candy squares and chocolate bars in retail stores, as well as Ghirardelli brand baking chocolate and cocoa.
Who is the owner of Ghirardelli?
A family-owned company for over 100 years, Ghirardelli passed through a series of owners in the 1980s and 1990s, and was bought in 1998 by the Swiss confectioner Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was founded by an Italian, Domenico Ghirardelli, who was born in Rapello, Italy, in 1817.
Is Ghirardelli Chocolate ethically sourced?
Since 2020, 100% of our cocoa beans are sourced traceable and externally verified by an independent third party. This is a major step toward our target to source all cocoa products (beans, butter, powder) through sustainability programs by 2025.
Where does Ghirardelli get its cocoa?
Lindt & Sprüngli farming programToday, more than 72,500 farmers participate in the Lindt & Sprüngli farming program (Lindt & Sprüngli , 2019). Over 85% of Ghirardelli cocoa beans are sourced through the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program (Ghirardelli, 2019).
Who manufactures Ghirardelli Chocolate?
the LindtThe Ghirardelli Chocolate Company has changed hands several times. They are now owned by the Lindt, yes the chocolate from Switzerland. If you want to bask in more chocolate lore (and chocolate), plan a trip to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door; buy here.
Does Ghirardelli use fair trade chocolate?
Ghirardelli controls all aspects of the bean to bar production process, but like Lindt & Sprüngli, does not source fair trade ingredients (Nieburg).
What chocolate companies do not use child labor?
5 Ethical Cocoa Brands That Don't Rely on Child LaborAlter Eco. ... Divine. ... Endangered Species. ... Theo. ... Madécasse. ... 4 Fair Trade Chocolate Brands to Celebrate Easter Sustainably. ... 10 Mood-Boosting & Organic Chocolate Candy Bars.
What chocolate is ethically sourced?
Ethically sourced chocolate means that the chocolate has been grown, farmed, and produced with the planet in mind and the company has treated the cocoa growers and farmers fairly. Also, look for: Single origin cacao that supports small farmers. Fairtrade growers owning their own chocolate brand.
Is Ghirardelli Made in USA?
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is an American confectioner, wholly owned by 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....Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.TypeSubsidiaryWebsitewww.ghirardelli.com6 more rows
What makes Ghirardelli chocolate so good?
The chocolate isn't too soft or sugary and offers the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Ghirardelli bars have a solid crunch when you break the bar, which we can appreciate. Aside from chocolate bars, Ghirardelli also wins in the baking mixes and hot chocolate department.
Is Ghirardelli going out of business?
The historic Ghirardelli marquee will soon disappear — but it's being preserved for years to come. June 30, 2020 Updated: June 30, 2020 12:50 p.m. FILE - The Ghiradelli sign will soon disappear, but the removal's not permanent. The marquee will be replicated so it can be preserved for years to come.
Where does Lindt source their cocoa?
It is mainly farmed in Latin America and the Caribbean. Lindt & Sprüngli uses fine flavor cocoa beans (Criollo and Trinitario) from Ecuador, Madagascar, Dominican Republic and Papua New Guinea.
How do you know if chocolate is ethically sourced?
On its website, Slave Free Chocolate states that consumers can determine if their chocolate is ethically-sourced by looking for a fair trade certification label on the product; additionally, "cocoa from outside West Africa is almost always ethically grown," according to the organization, so you can also look to see ...
Where does Hershey get their cocoa beans?
Hershey sources cocoa primarily from the West African nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (published by MIT), the Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans at $3.74 billion, or 37 percent of the global market in 2016.
Is Ghirardelli Chocolate Made in USA?
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is an American confectioner, wholly owned by 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....Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.TypeSubsidiaryWebsitewww.ghirardelli.com6 more rows
What makes Ghirardelli Chocolate so good?
The chocolate isn't too soft or sugary and offers the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Ghirardelli bars have a solid crunch when you break the bar, which we can appreciate. Aside from chocolate bars, Ghirardelli also wins in the baking mixes and hot chocolate department.
Is Ghirardelli going out of business?
The historic Ghirardelli marquee will soon disappear — but it's being preserved for years to come. June 30, 2020 Updated: June 30, 2020 12:50 p.m. FILE - The Ghiradelli sign will soon disappear, but the removal's not permanent. The marquee will be replicated so it can be preserved for years to come.
Is Ghirardelli Chocolate real?
Ghirardelli uses real chocolate in its products.
How much sugar is in Ghirardelli chocolate?
Ghirardelli Unsweetened Chocolate and Ghirardelli Chocolate Semi-Sweet Baking Bars: 4 ounces of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate equals 2 ounces of Ghirardelli Unsweetened Chocolate combined with 2 ounces of sugar.
Where is cacao grown?
Native to the dense tropical Amazon forests. Commercially grown worldwide in tropical rainforests within 20° latitude of the equator. Cacao Content Cacao content refers to the amount of the chocolate product that is made of the three cacao components (chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder).
What does cocoa mean on a chocolate label?
When it appears on a chocolate label with a percentage, it denotes the total cocoa bean (cacao) content of the chocolate and the term is sometimes used interchangeably with chocolate liquor, cacao, cocoa beans or cocoa solids. Not to be confused with Cocoa Powder.
What is the defining ingredient in chocolate?
Cacao The defining ingredient in all chocolate and chocolate products. The term "cacao" refers to the tree and its fruit and the seeds (otherwise known as cocoa beans) inside the fruit, which are processed to make chocolate.
How much caffeine is in dark chocolate?
Dark chocolate contains about 20 mg of caffeine per ounce, milk chocolate contains about 6 mg per ounce, and white chocolate contains no caffeine. However, caffeine content will vary and can be dependent on the cocoa bean type and origin.
Where does Forastero cacao come from?
Forastero: The hardiest and most productive of the three or four cacao varieties, Forastero is believed to have originated in the Amazon basin. Today it is grown around the globe and accounts for over 90% percent of the world's cacao. Chocolate manufacturers value Forasteros for basic robust chocolate flavor.
What is bittersweet chocolate?
Bittersweet Chocolate Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35% chocolate liquor and less than 12% milk solids. Bittersweet and semi-sweet both fall under this definition; however, bittersweet is often the term used for chocolate with a minimum of 50% chocolate liquor.
What was the biggest chocolate company in the 1920s?
Business boomed during World War I, when the factory operated around the clock producing chocolate for the armed forces. Domingo Ghirardelli , Jr., the founder's eldest son, was president of the company through this period until 1922. That year he stepped down, and his younger brother, Domingo Lyle, became president. The company flourished during the 1920s. Ghirardelli was the largest chocolate factory west of the Mississippi. Besides bulk chocolate and cocoa, the company made retail goods such as instant chocolate malted milk powder. Ghirardelli also did a sizable business in mustard. The company was actually the only mustard manufacturer west of the Mississippi. It sold mustard under the Ghirardelli brand, and also made all the mustard sold under the Schilling brand.
When was Ghirardelli chocolate made?
Founded in 1892 , Ghirardelli is one of the oldest and most venerable chocolate makers in the U.S. Ghirardelli focuses on high product quality and maintains a leading position in the rapidly growing premium chocolate segment of the U.S. market.
Who bought Ghirardelli chocolate?
In January 1998, Ghirardelli announced that it had been acquired by the Swiss chocolate maker Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG. Jack Anton maintained his position as president, so despite the quick turnover in ownership in the 1990s, there was continuity in management. Lindt & Sprungli was a leading producer of premium chocolates in Europe. Its major markets were Switzerland, Germany, and France. Since 1993, the company had been on an expansion program, and its acquisition of Ghirardelli fulfilled its objective of increasing its share of the North American market. Lindt brand chocolate had more of a presence in the eastern United States than in the West, so its purchase of Ghirardelli gave it better coverage of the entire country. Lindt announced that it was pleased with Ghirardelli's growth, which had averaged 20 percent annually over the five years preceding the sale, and did not anticipate making major changes.
Who is the founder of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company?
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was founded by an Italian, Domenico Ghirardelli, who was born in Rapello, Italy, in 1817. Domenico 's father was a merchant, and he apprenticed his son to a confectioner and spice importer. Domenico learned the trade, then moved to South America and went into business for himself. He worked for a time in Montevideo, Uruguay, and then settled in Lima, Peru. While in South America, Ghirardelli changed his first name from the Italian Domenico to the Spanish Domingo. Ghirardelli's shop in Lima was next door to that of a cabinetmaker, James Lick. Lick was either a restless or an adventurous fellow. In any case, he decided to leave Peru for California. He landed in San Francisco on January 11, 1848, just 13 days before gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, precipitating the California gold rush. Lick had brought with him 600 pounds of his neighbor Ghirardelli's chocolate. He soon wrote to Ghirardelli that conditions were ripe in California. He had sold all the chocolate he had with him, and he advised the confectioner to come north. So Domingo Ghirardelli promptly followed Lick to San Francisco. At first he sold chocolate, coffee, liqueurs, and other items to the gold miners, and by 1852 he had established a store in San Francisco. Ghirardelli's company had several locations in its early years, and apparently business was up and down. But by 1885 the company was importing 450,000 pounds of cocoa beans a year, as well as importing and grinding spices and selling coffee, wine, and liquor. Chocolate manufacturing was the mainstay of the business. The equipment needed to sort, blend, roast, and grind cocoa beans took up a lot of space, and the expanding business meant the company needed bigger quarters. Domingo Ghirardelli retired in 1892, leaving the company to his sons, and in 1893 the company purchased a square block in San Francisco bounded by Beach, Polk, Larkin, and North Point Streets. This area luckily survived the earthquake and fire of 1906, and Ghirardelli continued to expand its facilities, erecting new buildings in what became known as Ghirardelli Square. The Ghirardelli site had originally housed the Pioneer Woolen Mill, and Ghirardelli hired the mill's architect to design each of its new buildings. The company built a Cocoa Building in 1900, the Chocolate and Mustard Building in 1911, the Power House in 1915, and finally a clock tower and apartment building in 1916. These were all built of red brick with white trim, and the site is still considered architecturally impressive.
Is Ghirardelli a good company?
Ghirardelli was apparently a profitable but small business under Golden Grain. It had strong name recognition, particularly in the West. Under its new owner, the company continued to produce both wholesale chocolate for the confectionary, baking, and dairy industries, and premium retail branded items. By the mid-1980s, the company was doing well, but it only accounted for a little over ten percent of Golden Grain's total sales. In 1986 Quaker Oats, the Chicago-based food conglomerate, acquired Golden Grain, and with it, Ghirardelli. Quaker hung on to Ghirardelli for three years, then announced that the company was for sale. Ghirardelli was bringing in an estimated $35 million in annual sales at the time, but Quaker considered it too small, and not a good fit with its other grocery product lines. However, it took another three years before Quaker could find a buyer. In that time, Ghirardelli redesigned its packaging to give it a more modern and upscale look, and this move was linked to an upsurge in sales. Finally in March 1992 Quaker announced that a Boston investment firm, Thomas H. Lee Company, was buying Ghirardelli. Terms of the deal were not made available, but later disclosures put the price at around $40 million. Annual sales had grown to about the same amount by the early 1990s, though industry watchers also noted that Ghirardelli faced harsh competition from other large chocolate producers such as Hershey and Nestlé. Thomas H. Lee controlled a slew of consumer products manufacturers, including the General Nutrition Companies, Playtex Family Products, and others.