Coco Chocolate Competitors

Here at Thorntons, we’ve been crafting chocolate for over 100 years. That’s a lot of know-how that goes into each and every chocolate we make. It all started back in 1911 when travelling confectioner, Joseph William Thornton, opened up a sweet shop in Sheffield. He didn’t know then just how successful it would become, so he carried on with his day job and entrusted his 14‐year‐old son Norman to run the shop. He handed over the keys and told him to “make this the best sweet shop in town” ‐ and that’s exactly what he did. Word was starting to spread about the Thorntons shop, so Joseph brought on his brother, Stanley. With lots of quirky sweet treats like ‘Violet Cachous’, ‘Sweet Lips’ and ‘Phul-Nanas’, they sold the best confectionery around. But it wasn’t until the 1920’s that the brothers were making their hand‐made chocolate truffles, crystallised fondants and, of course, their famous Thorntons special toffee. Then, there was no stopping them. A lot has changed since our first humble store in Sheffield. By the 1970’s we had nearly 90 shops, and now we have a grand total of 228. But some things have stayed exactly the same. We still only use the finest cocoa beans to create our chocolate ‐ whether it’s dark, milk or white. And whether we’re making our famous toffees and chocolates or hampers stuffed full of treats, our passion for chocolate and love of craft still shines through in everything we do.

It was 1st May 1915, when Alfred E Haigh opened the doors of the very first Haigh’s Chocolates store at number 34 King William Street, Adelaide. Alfred began adding his own flavour to the industry and in 1917 he started producing chocolate-covered fruit centres, which we still make today. In 1919 Alfred bought land behind the family home at Parkside South Australia where he built a small factory, now the Visitors Centre. In 1922, he moved shops to the Beehive Corner – still our Adelaide flagship store. Sadly, in 1933, Alfred passed away suddenly. His son Claude took over the running of the business. Alfred’s grandson, John Haigh, joined the business in 1946 with a vision to take Haigh’s chocolate making to new heights. He trained in Switzerland with Lindt and Sprungli and visited the US to look at production, shop styles and marketing. John revolutionised the way we manufactured our chocolate and in 1959 became Managing Director. Business continued to grow and John looked for other opportunities to expand. In 1965 Haigh’s opened the first store outside South Australia, in Collins Street Melbourne. We’re very proud to be the oldest family-owned chocolate manufacturing retailer in Australia. Today the company is run by fourth generation Haighs, Alister and Simon, who started in the 1970s and had to work their way up from the bottom. They’ve been joint Managing Directors since 1990.

Koko Black is a company built out of passion. In 2001 Koko Black set off to discover the essence of chocolate which we felt was not being fully expressed in Australia. We had the idea that chocolate could inspire, connect and ignite the senses and dreamed of creating something unique and special. We travelled to Germany to learn the art of making chocolate from the bean and then on to Belgium where we met a passionate and talented chocolatier, who later helped kick start the development of Koko Black’s chocolate signature. In 2003 Koko Black’s flagship store opened in Melbourne’s iconic Royal Arcade and today you’ll find Koko Black stores across Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. Our aim has not changed since our formative days; the dream to create something special. The idea that chocolate could inspire, to ignite connections with chocolate’s deep sensory pleasure and personality. We blend ideas and ingredients with mastery to create unexpected signature chocolate experiences. Whether indulging in one of our signature pralines or truffles, or escaping from the outside world and surrendering to a moment of bliss with a Belgian Hot Chocolate, we aim to surprise and delight our customers. With over 100 chocolates and counting - the Koko Black range is complex indulgent and always adventurous. Born from a balance of principles and values that we hold close, each individual chocolate is meticulously crafted here in Melbourne, from the finest natural ingredients. We want to shape the way people see chocolate - it's our responsibility and we want to do it properly. Our passion for chocolate and the connection it inspires is the very heart of our brand and it leads us as we endeavor to surprise, excite and delight our customers.