World Chocolate Day

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A chocolate confection

World Chocolate Day, or just Chocolate Day, [1] is an annual celebration of chocolate, [2] occurring globally on July 7, [3] [2] which some suggest to be the anniversary of the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550. [4] [5] The observance of World Chocolate Day dates back to 2009 [6] and is not to be confused with International Chocolate Day. [7]

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Other Chocolate Day celebrations exist, such as National Chocolate Day in the United States on 28 October. [8] The U.S. National Confectioners Association lists 13 September as International Chocolate Day, [8] coinciding with the birth date of Milton S. Hershey (September 13, 1857). [9] [10] [11] Ghana, the second largest producer of cocoa, celebrates Chocolate Day on February 14. [12] In Latvia, World Chocolate Day is celebrated on July 11. [13]

The U.S. National Confectioners Association lists four primary chocolate holidays on their calendar [8] (Chocolate Day (July 7), two National Chocolate Days (October 28 and December 28), and International Chocolate Day (September 13) [14] ), in addition to variants such as National Milk Chocolate Day, National White Chocolate Day, and National Cocoa Day.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate</span> Food produced from cacao seeds

Chocolate, or cocoa, is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form for at least 5,300 years starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa bean</span> Fatty seed of Theobroma cacao which is the basis of chocolate

The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, also called cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cocoa trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadbury</span> British multinational confectionery company

Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Greater 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hershey Company</span> American food company

The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton S. Hershey</span> American chocolatier (1857–1945)

Milton Snavely Hershey was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey, Pennsylvania</span> Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey, and Hersheypark, an amusement park.

Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$45 billion in annual sales in 2022; that year Forbes ranked the company as the fourth-largest privately held company in the United States. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the company is entirely owned by the Mars family. Mars operates in four business segments around the world: Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Petcare, Food, and MARS Edge, the company's life sciences division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey's Kisses</span> Chocolate candy brand manufactured by the Hershey Company

Hershey's Kisses is a brand of chocolate first produced by the Hershey Company in 1907. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive conical shape, sometimes described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses chocolates are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil. A narrow strip of paper, called a plume, protrudes from the top of each Hershey's Kiss wrapper. Originally designed as a flag for the "Hershey's" brand, the printed paper plumes were added to the Kisses product wrapper in 1921 to distinguish the Hershey's Kiss from its competitors who were offering similar products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harkin–Engel Protocol</span> 2001 international cocoa labour agreement

The Harkin–Engel Protocol, sometimes referred to as the Cocoa Protocol, is an international agreement aimed at ending the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the production of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate. The protocol was negotiated by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and U.S. Representative Eliot Engel in response to a documentary and multiple articles in 2000 and 2001 reporting widespread child slavery and child trafficking in the production of cocoa. The protocol was signed in September 2001. Joint Statements in 2001, 2005 and 2008 and a Joint Declaration in 2010 extended the commitment to address the problem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White chocolate</span> Confectionery made from milk solids without cocoa solids

White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids. It is pale ivory in color, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk, dark, and other chocolates. It is solid at room temperature because the melting point of cocoa butter, the only white cocoa bean component, is 35 °C (95 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milka</span> Confectionery brand primarily sold in Europe

Milka is a Swiss brand of chocolate confectionery. Originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Suchard, it has been produced in Lörrach, Germany, from 1901. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when it started following the steps of its predecessor Kraft Foods Inc., which had taken over the brand in 1990. It is sold in bars and a number of novelty shapes for Easter and Christmas. Products with the Milka brand also include chocolate-covered cookies and biscuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in cocoa production</span> Controversial use of children in the production of cacao beans

Child labour is a recurring issue in cocoa production. Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, together produce nearly 60% of the world's cocoa each year. During the 2018/19 cocoa-growing season, research commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in these two countries and found that 1.48 million children are engaged in hazardous work on cocoa farms including working with sharp tools and agricultural chemicals and carrying heavy loads. That number of children is significant, representing 43 percent of all children living in agricultural households in cocoa growing areas. During the same period cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana increased 62 percent while the prevalence of child labour in cocoa production among all agricultural households increased 14 percentage points. Attention on this subject has focused on West Africa, which collectively supplies 69% of the world's cocoa, and Côte d'Ivoire, supplying 35%, in particular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milk Duds</span> Brand of caramel and cocoa confectionery

Milk Duds are a brand of candies made with chocolate, created in 1928 by Hoffman and Company of Chicago and now produced and marketed by The Hershey Company, under license from owners of the brand, Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based global private equity firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mint chocolate</span> Chocolate with mint flavoring

Mint chocolate is a popular type of chocolate, made by adding a mint flavoring, such as peppermint, spearmint, or crème de menthe, to chocolate. Mint chocolate can be found in a wide variety of confectionery items, such as candy, mints, cookies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot chocolate, and others. In addition, it is marketed in a non-edible format as cosmetics. Depending widely on the ingredients and the process used, mint chocolate can give off a very distinctive mint fragrance. The chocolate component can be milk chocolate, regular dark chocolate, or white chocolate; due to this, mint chocolate has no one specific flavor, and so each chocolate-plus-flavor combination can be unique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Confectioners Association</span> American trade organization

The National Confectioners Association is an American trade organization that promotes chocolate, candy, gum and mints, and the companies that make these treats. NCA lobbies the American government in favor of the confectionery industry, evaluated at US$35 billion. Confections are produced in all 50 states. The association "annually hosts the National Candy Show in Chicago, as well as the Candy Hall of Fame". As of 2024, the Sweets and Snacks Expo will take place in Indianapolis.

Barry Callebaut AG is a Swiss-Belgian cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, with an average annual production of 2.3 million tonnes of cocoa & chocolate . It was created in 1996 through the merging of the French company Cacao Barry and the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut. It is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. It was created in its present form by Klaus Johann Jacobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa production in Ivory Coast</span>

Ivory Coast leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, as of 2012, supplying 38% of cocoa produced in the world. West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.8 million tonnes as of 2017, and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978, and today is highly dependent on the crop, which accounts for 40% of national export income. The primary non-African competitor of Ivory Coast is Indonesia, which went from having almost nonexistent domestic cocoa industry in the 1970s to becoming one of the largest producers in the market by the early 2000s. According to the UN FAO, Indonesia overtook Ghana and became the second-largest producer worldwide in 2006. The World Cocoa Foundation provides significantly lower figures for Indonesia, but concurs that it is the largest producer of cocoa beans outside of West Africa. Large chocolate producers such as Cadbury, Hershey's, and Nestle buy Ivorian cocoa futures and options through Euronext whereby world prices are set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair trade cocoa</span> Cocoa harvested under a certified process

Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.

Mondelez International, Inc., styled as Mondelēz International, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26.5 billion and operates in approximately 160 countries. It ranked No. 108 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

The World Cocoa Foundation is a non-profit membership organization with more than 90 member companies striving to make the cocoa supply chain more sustainable. WCF and its members are criticized for doing too little to end child labor, deforestation and extreme poverty, with their efforts dismissed as “greenwashing” and “a remarkable failure”. WCF's membership includes chocolate manufacturers such as Mondelez International, Nestlé, The Hershey Company and Mars, Inc. cocoa producers and suppliers such as Barry Callebaut and Cargill, shipping companies and ports and retailers such as Starbucks.

References

  1. "World Chocolate Day 2020: Why is World Chocolate Day celebrated?". The Times of India. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 Claire Healy (7 July 2014). "World Chocolate Day: Five things you didn't know about Ireland and its grá for chocolate". irishmirror. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  3. "World Chocolate Day: What your chocolate says about you". NewsComAu. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. "International Chocolate Day the sweetest day of the year". Mercury. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  5. Hart, Hugh (7 July 2018). "July 7, 1550: Europeans Discover Chocolate". Wired .
  6. Ginger Carter-Marks (1 February 2009). Kim Mutch-Emerson (ed.). The 2009 Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide. DocUmeant Publishing. ISBN   9780978883157 . Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  7. "World Chocolate Day 2024 🍫". digitalhygge.com. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 "Candy Holidays". National Confectioners Association. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  9. "Milton Hershey Biography". Biography.com . Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  10. ""September 2008 dates to celebrate"". Creative Forecasting. 20 (7–12): 6. 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2014. International Chocolate Day - This day celebrates the birth anniversary of Milton Hershey (1857 - 1945)
  11. "Milton Hershey: Happy Birthday". The Hershey Company. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  12. "CPC cash in as Ghanaians celebrate chocolate day". News Ghana. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  13. "World Chocolate Day 2020 celebrated to mark introduction of food in Europe; all you need to know". Firstpost. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  14. "Reasons to celebrate chocolate in September". National Confectioners Association. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.