Godiva (chocolatier)
Encyclopedia
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s and related products. Godiva, founded in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1926, was purchased by Turkish Yıldız Holding
Yıldız Holding
Yıldız Holding is a major Turkish manufacturer of food products.- Yıldız Holding at a glance :*Yıldız Holding acquisition Godiva Chocolatier*Yıldız Holding has 65 companies.*Yıldız Holding's foreign revenue is $1.3 Billion USD,...
, owner of the Ülker
Ülker
Ülker is a major Turkish manufacturer of food products, which are exported internationally, to 110 countries.The company's core products are cookies, crackers, and chocolates, although Ülker has expanded to other product categories....
Group, on Nov 20th, 2007. Godiva owns and operates more than 450 retail boutiques and shops in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia and is available via over 10,000 speciality retailers.
In addition to chocolates, Godiva also sells truffles
Chocolate truffle
A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, usually in a spherical, conical, or curved shape...
, coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, cocoa
Cocoa solids
Cocoa solids are the low-fat component of chocolate. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa powder, cocoa, and cacao....
, biscuits, dipped fruits and sweets, chocolate liqueur, Shakes, wedding and party favors and other items arranged in gift basket
Gift basket
A gift basket, or fruit basket is typically a gift delivered to the recipient at their home or workplace. A variety of gift baskets exist: some contain fruit; while others might contain dry or canned foods such as tea, crackers and jam; or the basket might include a combination of fruit and dried...
s. Godiva's signature package is the Gold Ballotin (French for "small, elegant box of chocolates"). Godiva also produces seasonal and limited-edition chocolates with special packaging for all major holidays. Godiva also has license agreements for the production of ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, cheesecake, coffee pods and liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
that comes in several chocolate-related flavors.
History
Godiva was founded in 1926 in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, by Joseph Draps who opened his first boutique in the Grand Place in Brussels under its present name, in honour of the legend of Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva
Godiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
. The first Godiva shop outside Belgium was opened in Paris on the fashionable Rue St. Honoré in 1958. In 1966, the company's products reached the United States, where they were sold at luxury strip malls. The following year, it was purchased by the Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
. In 1972, the first Godiva boutique in North America was opened on New York's Fifth Avenue.
By 2007 Godiva had annual sales of approximately $500 million. In August of that year, Campbell Soup Company announced it was "exploring strategic alternatives, including possible divestiture
Divestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
, for its Godiva Chocolatier business"; the company said the "premium chocolate business does not fit with Campbell's strategic focus on simple meals".
On December 20, 2007, Campbell announced that it entered into an agreement to sell Godiva to Istanbul, Turkey, based Yıldız Holding
Yıldız Holding
Yıldız Holding is a major Turkish manufacturer of food products.- Yıldız Holding at a glance :*Yıldız Holding acquisition Godiva Chocolatier*Yıldız Holding has 65 companies.*Yıldız Holding's foreign revenue is $1.3 Billion USD,...
, which owns Ülker
Ülker
Ülker is a major Turkish manufacturer of food products, which are exported internationally, to 110 countries.The company's core products are cookies, crackers, and chocolates, although Ülker has expanded to other product categories....
group, the largest consumer goods manufacturer in the Turkish food industry. The acquisition was completed on March 18, 2008, for $850 million.