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Whittaker's

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Whittaker's
Company typePrivate limited liability company
IndustryChocolatier
FoundedChristchurch, 1896
FounderJ.H. Whittaker
Headquarters
Porirua, New Zealand
OwnerWhittaker family

J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd (Whittaker's) is a confectionery manufacturer specialising in palm oil-free[1] chocolate and based in Porirua, New Zealand. Whittaker's is the largest chocolate brand in New Zealand.[2] Approximately 30% of their production is now exported.[3] The company controls its entire manufacturing process in its facility in Porirua, identifying itself as a "bean-to-bar" manufacturer.[2] James Henry Whittaker (1868–1947) started the business in Christchurch in 1896 [2] and it was later moved to Wellington.

History

Whittaker's Chocolates & Confectionery Company's Fargo Truck
photo of chocolate bar wrapper
Maori-language label for Whittaker's Creamy Milk.

James Henry Whittaker worked in the British confectionery industry at the age of 14 and moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1890. Six years later he started manufacturing chocolate confectionery, selling it directly to customers using horse and van.[4] In 1913, he established a partnership with his two sons, Ronald and James, based in Wellington. The business became a limited liability company in 1937, with third-generation Whittakers still the sole shareholders in the company. In 1969 the company moved from Wellington to Porirua, because they needed more space and their premises at 167 Vivian Street were under threat from motorway development.[4][5] The Peanut Slab was invented in the 1950s[4] and Whittaker's began exporting it in 1985.[5] In the 1970s and 80s they also produced Santé Bars, Toffee Milk Bars and K-Bars.[5] The company began producing large blocks of chocolate in the 1990s.[4] In 1992 the company formed J.H. Whittaker New Zealand Ltd.[4]

The company has provided commercial sponsorship for motor sports in New Zealand as well as for the All Blacks.[6][7]

The company's marketing phrases include "A passion for chocolate since 1896" and "Good honest chocolate" and also "from bean to bar". In 2011 it was listed as New Zealand's third most trusted brand by Bradley Colman survey.[8] From 2012 to 2022 Whittaker's was voted New Zealand's most trusted brand,[9][10] benefitting from Cadbury's 2009 bad publicity surrounding palm oil and changes in product size,[11][12] and further fallout from Cadbury's closure of its Dunedin factory in 2017.[13][14]

In May 2014, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson filmed an advert for Whittaker's in the 1930s Wellington railway station.[15][16] Later, in 2022, Karl Urban appeared in an advert as a fictionalised time-travelling James Whittaker, right outside the same location.[17][18]

In June 2014, Whittaker's expanded its market to Malaysia.[19]

In 2014 Whittaker's set up a programme to support and improve cocoa bean production in Samoa, and in 2017 expanded the programme to include New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.[20][21][22] In 2019 Whittaker's admitted that while some bars have ethically sourced cocoa beans, the sugar is primarily sourced from Thailand.[23] Thailand is known to have child labour in the sugar cane industry.[24] In 2020 Whittaker's announced that its 116 products made with Ghanaian cocoa beans would now be 'Rainforest Alliance Certified'.[25] The company also uses small amounts of beans from Samoa and Nicaragua.

Apart from being named as New Zealand's most trusted brand, the company has won other awards including 'Exporter of the Year' at the 2021 ExportNZ ASB Wellington Export Awards[26] and Supreme Award in the 2022 Wellington Gold Awards, which are awarded to recognise businesses in the Wellington region.[27]

In August 2022 the company released an image of a chocolate bar wrapper which it produced for Māori Language Week, which has the chocolate variety 'Creamy Milk' written in Māori as 'Miraka Kirīmi'. The initiative was met with both praise and hostility from the public.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dr Siouxsie Wiles. "Greta's mates: The responsible generation".
  2. ^ a b c Adams, Christopher (6 November 2010). "Tough task wooing the tastebuds". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  3. ^ "The bitter aftertaste to Cadbury's closing". Otago Daily Times Online News. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e "History". J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd.
  5. ^ a b c "Wellington Classics: A Slab on the Back". Wellington City Magazine. June 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via Wellington City Libraries.
  6. ^ "MG Classic". www.mgcarclub.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Whittaker's serves up scrumptious support for the All Blacks". stoppress.co.nz. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  8. ^ Hannan, Hayley (25 July 2011). "Cadbury falls from grace in most-trusted survey". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  9. ^ "New Zealand's most trusted brand hasn't changed in a decade, survey says". Stuff. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Whittaker's - 2022 Trusted Brands New Zealand Winner". www.trustedbrands.co.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  11. ^ Owen, Scott (4 August 2015). "Lessons in Whittaker's tasty marketing". The Press. p. A9. ProQuest 1700787621. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream.
  12. ^ Edmunds, Susan (13 September 2016). "Chocolate wars heat up as Whittaker's appeal firms". Manawatu Standard. p. 7. ProQuest 1818471333. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream.
  13. ^ Susan Edmunds (24 February 2017). "Cadbury backlash a win for Kiwi chocolate brand Whittaker's". Stuff.
  14. ^ "The bitter aftertaste to Cadbury's closing". Otago Daily Times. 23 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Lawson filming at Wellington station". Stuff/Fairfax. 6 May 2014.
  16. ^ "Nigella Lawson causes a stir in Wellington". New Zealand Herald. 6 May 2014.
  17. ^ Whittaker's J.H. Returns (long version) on YouTube
  18. ^ Whittaker's J.H. Returns (short version) on YouTube
  19. ^ "Whittaker's Chocolate expands into Malaysia". Whittakers. Scoop. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Good Honest Samoan Cocoa: Reconnecting with our Pacific family". www.whittakers.co.nz. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Revitalising Samoa's cocoa industry". FMCG Business. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  22. ^ Fairtrade ANZ (July 2016). Evaluation of Support for Fairtrade Business Development in Pacific Island Countries: Final Evaluation Report (PDF). Coffey.
  23. ^ Nadkarni, Anuja (7 June 2019). "Whittakers and Mondelez cannot confirm their chocolate is free of child labour". Stuff NZ. Retrieved 13 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports". US Department of Labour. 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ "Whittaker's announces new Rainforest Alliance partnership". FMCG Business. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  26. ^ Wellington Chamber of Commerce (19 November 2021). "Whittaker's Claim Top Prize At Wellington Export Awards [Press Release]". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  27. ^ Wong, Justin (7 July 2022). "Whittaker's picks up supreme award at Wellington Gold Awards". Stuff. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  28. ^ Jacobs, Maxine (16 August 2022). "Chocolate lovers stand up against racist backlash to Whittaker's Miraka Kirīmi". Stuff. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
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