Evolution of the American Chocolate industry:
Evolution of the American Chocolate industry:
Chocolate, a wonderful and tasteful product of sugar, flavor and soul. Chocolate is a multi-billion dollar industry that has prospered throughout the centuries, ever since the Mesoamerican’s discovered the sweet taste, people worldwide have fallen in love with the wonderful treat. The addiction to chocolate is so momentous that Americans actually on average eat twenty two (22) pounds of candy each year, or approximately 2.8 BILLION pounds annually, split equally between candy and chocolate, this is far less than most Europeans consume.
American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk only surpassed by the cheese and ice cream industries, and as of 2006, consumers spent more than $7,000,000 a year on chocolate related products.() So why do we spend so much time and money on such a small chunk of sugar? Well I believe it is because the candy industry in America has greatly exposed our awareness to the delicious treat. Powerful entrepreneurs such as Hershey and Mars have paved the path for candy companies to advertise and sell their products, likewise Chocolate enthusiasts such as Steve Almond and Betty Crocker have given the general public the knowledge and expertise of what a good chocolate bar should taste like, without these influential people, the chocolate industry would not be what it is today. The introduction of sweets in America is a thousand year-long expedition. Its adventure started in the jungles of South America and ended up on the candy racks of American supermarkets. The development of Candy in the United States and the candy industry began around the mid-1900s (), but humanity’s love affair with chocolate began at least 4,000 years ago in Mesoamerica (Present day South America/Central America) Where Cacao grew wild. The Olmec’s unlocked the secret of how to eat the bitter seed, thus launching the endearing phenomena. () Since then people around the world have turned to
Chocolate, a wonderful and tasteful product of sugar, flavor and soul. Chocolate is a multi-billion dollar industry that has prospered throughout the centuries, ever since the Mesoamerican’s discovered the sweet taste, people worldwide have fallen in love with the wonderful treat. The addiction to chocolate is so momentous that Americans actually on average eat twenty two (22) pounds of candy each year, or approximately 2.8 BILLION pounds annually, split equally between candy and chocolate, this is far less than most Europeans consume.
American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk only surpassed by the cheese and ice cream industries, and as of 2006, consumers spent more than $7,000,000 a year on chocolate related products.() So why do we spend so much time and money on such a small chunk of sugar? Well I believe it is because the candy industry in America has greatly exposed our awareness to the delicious treat. Powerful entrepreneurs such as Hershey and Mars have paved the path for candy companies to advertise and sell their products, likewise Chocolate enthusiasts such as Steve Almond and Betty Crocker have given the general public the knowledge and expertise of what a good chocolate bar should taste like, without these influential people, the chocolate industry would not be what it is today. The introduction of sweets in America is a thousand year-long expedition. Its adventure started in the jungles of South America and ended up on the candy racks of American supermarkets. The development of Candy in the United States and the candy industry began around the mid-1900s (), but humanity’s love affair with chocolate began at least 4,000 years ago in Mesoamerica (Present day South America/Central America) Where Cacao grew wild. The Olmec’s unlocked the secret of how to eat the bitter seed, thus launching the endearing phenomena. () Since then people around the world have turned to
Cited: Almond, Steve. Candy Freak, New York: Algonquin Books of Chapel hill, 2004. Croker, Betty. Everything Chocolate, Minneapolis: Prentice Hall General Mills, 1993. D’Antonio, Michael. Hershey, New York: Rockefeller Center, 2006. Glenn Brenner, Joël. The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars, Atlanta: Random House, 1998.