Ghirardelli Chocolate

The Chocolate Connoisseur July 18th, 2007

The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company first opened in 1852 and has been in consistent operation since that year. The name is often incorrectly pronounced; the proper pronunciation of Ghirardelli name is “Gear-ar-delly”. The first factory opened on Greenwich and Powell Streets in San Francisco. The Ghirardelli Company operates a factory, chocolaterie, café and soda fountain in San Francisco. There is an area referred to as Ghirardelli Square where all the company businesses are located. The company has a rich legacy of chocolate making with the founders of the company being Domenico Ghirardelli, although he later changed his first name to Domingo.

During the Gold Rush, Mr. Ghirardelli discovered that the miners were willing to spend their hard-earned money on the luxury of chocolate. The first store was opened in Stockton, California. In the late 1800s, Ghirardelli hired local artists to create posters to advertise his chocolate products. This strategy proved to be lucrative as it brought many consumers into his shop. In 1892 Mr. Ghirardelli retired from the chocolate business, leaving the company in the hands of his three sons. Two years later, Mr. Ghirardelli died at the age of 77 in Italy.
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Chocolate Factories

The Chocolate Connoisseur June 12th, 2007

A chocolate factory is a place where large amounts of chocolate are manufactured, usually for resale in retail outlets. Most chocolate manufacturers have a chocolate factory where their products are made.

A chocolate factory can be a small, family-run business where specialties are produced in smaller amounts, typically to be sold in the family-run store to the public. In larger conglomerates, such as Hershey’s Chocolates or Ghirardelli Chocolates, the production floor is a large environment making vast amounts of chocolate and novelties. The companies that have factories employ large numbers of people to help in the management and operations of huge companies to cover all elements of the producing and packaging of the chocolates in the chocolate factory. Most large companies have more than one factory, usually strategically positioned throughout the world or across the country to help distribute their products all over the world to meet the demands of chocolate consumers.
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