Which company first sold heart-shaped boxes of chocolate?

Trivia 21 of 30

Which company first sold heart-shaped boxes of chocolate?

Prior to the 1800s, chocolate as we know it didn’t exist. Instead, people drank a bitter and oily mixture of cocoa butter and cocoa bean, apparently for its health benefits (npr.org). This strange cocktail was considered a suitable replacement to alcohol—a drink much more damaging to society, according to the Quaker population of the time (cadbury.co.uk).

The invention of modern chocolate

In the early 1800s, a Dutch chemist figured out you could make this cocoa drink less bitter by adding alkaline salts, and you could improve its texture with a special press. Thus, Europe was introduced to Dutch Cocoa, the world’s first modern-style chocolate (wikipedia.org).

The first Cadbury

John Cadbury opened his tea shop in Birmingham, England, in 1824. He sold many things, including cocoa and drinking chocolate. He even prepared the drinking chocolate himself with a pestle and mortar (cadbury.co.uk).

His son, Richard Cadbury, is credited as the inventor of the heart-shaped chocolate box. He was an insightful marketer, decorating his boxes with sentimental scenes, including “idyllic landscapes, delicate flowers, and […] drawings of his own cherubic children” (food52.com). People in Victorian England were passionate romantics and often saved these special boxes to store their letters and keepsakes (candyfavorites.com).

Valentine’s chocolates in the U.S.

Eventually, the Valentine’s Day tradition found its way to North America. Hershey’s introduced its Hershey’s Kisses in 1907 and, in the 1920s, Russell Stover unveiled its “Red Foil Heart” and “Secret Lace Heart.” The company went on to become the No. 1 chocolate brand in the U.S. Today, over 36 million heart-shaped boxes are sold around the world every year (tastingtable.com).

Richard Cadbury, unfortunately, didn’t recognize the full potential of his heart-shaped box idea and and failed to patent it (food52.com). We can at least hope he was satisfied bringing happiness to so many people. My heart goes out him.