World's Finest Chocolate
World's Finest Chocolate is a chocolate company based in Chicago, Illinois.[1]
Private | |
Founded | 1949 |
Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Products | Chocolate |
Website | www |
The company has sold more than 5 billion chocolate bars, their best-known product.[2] They manufacture chocolate "from bean to bar", and source cocoa beans from their own cocoa farm in St. Lucia.[2] They also own Queen Anne, a brand of cordial cherries.
The core of the company's business is bulk sales for school fundraisers and corporate gifts,[1] and it is one of the largest suppliers of this market segment.[1]
The characterization as "world's finest" is puffery, that is, the company's own unverified opinion, and has been characterized as "patently unethical".[3]
History
The company was founded by Edmond Opler Sr. in around 1939 under the name Cook Chocolate Company. He started the division that produced chocolate bars for fundraising in 1949, and called it "World's Finest Chocolate". In 1972, the company's name was changed to "World's Finest Chocolate". Opler's son, Edmond Jr., has run the company since Edmond Sr. retired in 1988.[4]
References
- Schmeltzer, John (February 7, 2006). "Chocolate firm breaks mold ; World's Finest expands into retail". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2012. (subscription required)
- Plunkett, Jack W. (2008). Plunkett's Food Industry Almanac. Pluncket Research, Ltd. ISBN 9781593921064. Retrieved May 20, 2012. ISBN 1593924496
- Susannah Brooks, "Preston, professor and anti-puffery crusader, dies at 79", University of Wisconsin-Madison News, March 3, 2011
- Teresa Jimenez, "Edmond Opler Sr., Candymaker" (obituary), Chicago Tribute, August 30, 1995 full text
Further reading
- Miller, David (September 15, 2011). "Broadcast group works with World's Finest Chocolate on Guinness record-setting campaign". The Dispatch. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- "Local Company Seeks Record For World's Largest Chocolate Bar". CBS News (Chicago). September 13, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- Lowe, Frederick H. (November 27, 1991). "Chocolate firm settles bias lawsuit: World's Finest will pay $2 million to blacks and women who were denied jobs". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 20, 2012. (subscription required)
- Chavez, Donna (November 29, 1992). "World's Finest A lifetime built on chocolate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2012. (subscription required)
- http://abc7chicago.com/business/made-in-chicago-worlds-finest-chocolate/515061/
- https://www.packworld.com/article/robotics-sweeten-wip-worlds-finest-chocolate