Milk | Chips | Hot | Swiss | Belgian
Top Chocolate Milk Brands
#1. Hood
The Brand: Hood has been around since 1846 when Harvey P. Hood, a milk delivery man, realized a better quality milk product was possible. Hood was founded with a selective choice of farmers that continues to this day — the company consists of farmers that have pledged to follow the strict guidelines of quality production and care that Harvey Hood envisioned from the start.
Need To Know: The Hood brand stands strong in their sustainability efforts, constantly evolving and growing in order to reduce their environmental impact, resource consumption, and waste as much as innovation allows. Hood values how they treat our land because they know that it circles back into the milk we drink.
#2. Trumoo – Dean Foods
The Brand: Trumoo is a brand of chocolate milk launched by Dean Foods, an eighty year strong nationwide brand for dairy products. Their company uses about 10% of the U.S. milk supply to create a variety of goods that have the goal of being as good tasting as they are good for your body. The seedling of the Dean Foods company started in 1925 when Samuel Dean Sr. purchased an evaporated milk processing facility in Illinois — eventually becoming the creator of the Trumoo chocolate milk we love today.
Need To Know: Trumoo was created with a focus on listening to consumers and what was important to them — which means saying goodbye to artificial growth hormones, high fructose corn syrup, and GMO ingredients.
#3. Fairlife
The Brand: Fairlife began in 2012 with a focus on producing milk that reached further than the homes of its consumers, they were interested in the world of its consumers, as well. By creating a product that is more nutritious and wholesome, Fairlife is striving to create a healthier community as a whole. The core values of this company stand on the legs of a larger picture of wellbeing.
Need To Know: Fairlife’s chocolate milk is ultra-filtered and consists of less sugar and more protein than regular chocolate milk — using zero growth hormones and featuring no lactose, Fairlife uses innovation to constantly improve their product in order to help our world thrive.
#4. Prairie Farms
The Brand: Prairie Farms is a midwest based company that has grown to consist of over 700 farm families since its start in 1938. Many of the farms are multigenerational, with grandchildren through grandparents working to create a trusted product — from milking the cows to caring for the calves, Prairie Farms is fueled by family values and quality product.
Need To Know: Cows and calves at Prairie Farms have specialized diets developed by animal nutritionists in order to help fulfil the company-wide expectation of exceptional cow care. When it comes to their cows, Prairie Farms holds itself to the highest standards, including the housing, nutrition, equipment, and milking procedure guidelines that every farm follows.
#5. Dutch – Borden Dairy
The Brand: The beginning of the Borden Dairy company we know today can be traced back to the 1800s from the mind of Gail Borden. In the early 2000s the name Borden Dairy was established and to this day strives to produce chocolate milk that uses nourishing ingredients and lower fat content, while still tasting rich and creamy.
Need To Know: An inventor and entrepreneur of his time, Gail Borden was the revolutionary behind long-distance transportation of milk using a method of condensing. After this spark of genius, Borden opened a successful milk factory and even held major contracts during the Civil Way to supply the Union Army with milk.
Top Chocolate Chip Cookies Brands
#1. Chips Ahoy!
The Brand: Chips Ahoy cookies were introduced in 1964 by the international snack company Mondelez. Mondelez was founded with the purpose of providing snacks made with high-quality ingredients and sustainable packaging in order to serve the public and the planet.
Need To Know: Mondelez itself has only been around since the end of 2012, but it was birthed from the foundation of many preceding companies that can be dated back hundreds of years.
#2. Tate’s
The Brand: Tate’s cookies are also a product of the international snack company Mondelez and were introduced in 2000. These cookies were created using a thin and crispy design that makes them a huge favorite and a unique addition to the snacking world.
Need To Know: The founder of Tate’s Bake Shop was an eleven year old Kathleen King, who started selling her cookies on a fold-out table in Long Island.
#3. Entenmann’s
The Brand: Entenmann’s was created by a baker that traveled from Germany to America in the late 1800s. The company was built on the value of family traditions and the goal of helping to create more traditions to bring families together. Entenmann’s produces a wide variety of treats, with their chocolate chip cookies being a household favorite across the country.
Need To Know: Entenmann’s has teamed up with the company TerraCycle in order to reduce their environmental impact and help the planet. They have created a program that recycles their packaging into objects used by the public, such as park benches and bike racks.
#4. Pepperidge Farms
The Brand: Pepperidge Farms began after the stock market crash of 1929 after Margaret Rudkins, an innovative woman of her time, lived through the challenge of having a son who suffered with severe allergies to processed foods. She created a whole wheat bread recipe that her son could eat — and quickly realized it was as delicious as it was nutritious. Today we turn to Pepperidge Farms cookies for the same real ingredients that Rudkins valued from the start.
Need To Know: Pepperidge Farms was named after the property Margaret Rudkins lived on in Fairfield, Connecticut.
#5. Keebler
The Brand: Keebler as we know it today has cookies that have been branded with the image of elves baking in a tree — using the quote “made with magic, loved by families.” Before Keebler reached their staple and internationally known popularity, the company was only a small Philadelphia bakery owned by Godfrey Keebler in 1853.
Need To Know: Keeblers is the second largest cookie and cracker manufacturer in the United States, and even produces over 60% of Girl Scout cookies that are sold.
Top Hot Chocolate Brands (H2, name 5 brands)
#1. Nestle
The Brand: Nestle began when the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company and Henri Nestle, the developer of a successful infant food, merged companies in 1905. Today, Nestle is the largest food and beverage company in the world with over 2000 brands of products. Their hot cocoa mix is made from real, sustainable sourced cocoa beans.
Need To Know: Nestle has a sustainable and socially conscious program called the Nestle Cocoa Plan that includes helping their farmers receive training in order to improve the quality of the product as well as have better sustainable lande usage.
#2. Swiss Miss
The Brand: Swiss Miss was established over half a century ago and is a classic brand of cocoa mix and pudding in the United States. This company supports more than 45 local dairy farms and is based in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Need To Know: Swiss Miss’ instant cocoa mix was developed in Wisconsin by a manufacturer of instant dry milk, Sanna Dairies and was originally created to be served on airlines.
#3. Ghirardelli
The Brand: Originally a small confectionary shop in the 1800s called Ghirardely & Girard, the modern day Ghirardelli is one of the leading chocolate companies. The namesake, Domenico Ghirardelli, started his venture into premium chocolate as a local candy maker in 1817 Italy.
Need To Know: When Ghirardelli opened shop in California in 1849, his was one of the first stores that attracted gold miners by using his chocolates. From this success, he was able to expand his business throughout the San Francisco area.
#4. Hershey
The Brand: Hershey is an incredible staple in the chocolate and treat industry, with hot cocoa mix being just another successful product of the popular company. Hershey was founded by Milton Hershey with the intention of providing everyone with a means to get chocolate.
Need To Know: Hersheys began as the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894 and by 1900 had sold their very first candy bar. By 2000, Hershey became a well-established and wide reaching brand that even was a founding member of the World Cocoa Foundation in order to improve cacao agriculture.
#5. Starbucks
The Brand: The first Starbucks store was opened in 1971 in Seattle, Washington and sold coffee beans, teas, and spices. It wasn’t until over ten years later that a man by the name of Howard Schultz revolutionized Starbucks by turning it into a coffeehouse inspired by the ones in Italy. Today Starbucks sells a wide range of food and beverages with their label trademarking a premium quality product — including their hot chocolate.
Need To Know: The Starbucks name was inspired by the tale of Moby Dick and the early coffee traders sea-fairing of the time. The Starbucks mission is inspired by a drive to nurture the human spirit with every cup of coffee sold.
Top Swiss Chocolate Brands
#1. Lindt
The Brand: Lindt & Sprungli celebrated their 175th anniversary in 2020, accomplishing the title of number one in the global premium chocolate market. Their start can be dated back to 1845 in Switzerland with an idea to produce chocolate in a solid form. David Sprungli-Schwarz and son Rudolf Sprungli-Ammann started a bakery in Zurich and since then they have expanded to become an international company
Need To Know: Lindt has its own museum that opened in 2020 called the Lindt Home of Chocolate, which features an over 9 meter high chocolate fountain.
#2. Cailler
The Brand: The brand Cailler was established in 1819 and is one of Switzerland’s oldest chocolate brands — their product is a blend of fine milk from Switzerland and 100% sourced sustainable West African Cocoa. Cailler is one of the most known and loved Swiss chocolate brands.
Need To Know: Cailler is a subsidiary of the company Nestle and therefore is part of the company’s Nestle Cocoa Plan that provides outreach to cocoa farmers and their communities.
#3. Toblerone
The Brand: Toblerone is a subsidiary of Mondelez and was created in 1908 by Theodor Tobler, the son of a chocolatier based in Bern. Tobler created the recipe from chocolate, honey, nougat, and almonds and then set it into the famous shape that reigns popular throughout the world – the Toblerone triangle.
Need To Know: The name Toblerone was named after a combination of the developers name, Tobler, and the italian word for nougat, torrone.
#4. Villars
The Brand: Wilhelm Kaiser founded the inspiration that led to the foundations of the Villars we know today. Kaisers company Chocolat Villars began in Villars-sur-Glane and was revolutionary in its artisanal process. The foundation of their chocolate production is to start and finish under the same roof. The present day Villars is a passionate company that embodies traditional dairy farming as well as the heart of Switzerland.
Need To Know: The cow that has been an official emblem of Villars for decades is the center of the Villars story and represents the premium quality of the milk used in their chocolate.
#5. Milka
The Brand: Milka originated in 1901 in Switzerland and is now a subsidiary of Mondelez International. As the brand expanded, its popularity swept through Austria and Germany, becoming Germany’s leading chocolate by 1960. The chocolate is primarily produced in Germany and is made using Alpine milk — creating a well-loved taste to this day.
Need To Know: The distinctive lilac-colored packaging is the original color that was used for Milka’s first chocolate in 1901.
Top Belgian Chocolate Brands
#1. Neuhaus
The Brand: The Neuhaus company has been around since its founding in 1857 by swiss immigrant Jean Neuhaus. The original store was in Brussels with the name Neuhaus Boutique and is still there to this day, with the only difference being their established international success. Neuhaus is driven by innovation and they hold their Master Chocolatiers to the standard of excellence that the company was founded on.
Need To Know: Neuhaus has a commitment to honest chocolate that includes being part of UTZ, the leading program for sustainably grown cacao. Neuhaus also invests in their own cacao farm located in Ecuador — using farmers that are masters of the fermentation process and can expertly develop the rich flavor of their cacao.
#2. Godiva
The Brand: Godiva is a dominating belgium chocolate presence internationally, with boutiques in more than 100 countries. The start of this leading brand traces back to Brussels in the early 1900s. Pierre Draps Sr. began making pralines in 1926 and when he passed away, his two sons took over the family business.
Need To Know: The name Godiva was inspired by Lady Godiva and her values of boldness, generosity, and a pioneering spirit. The family named their company in her honor and the brand we know today still holds those values close.
#3. GuyLian
The Brand: Guy Foubert founded Guylian in 1958 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium with his wife. The two developed a roasted hazelnut praline filling and the marbled exterior and it is now looked back on as a reflection of the love and teamwork that the two shared. GuyLian is one of the top ten best selling boxed chocolate brands and are still produced entirely in its origin city of Sint-Niklaas.
Need To Know: The name GuyLian is a combination of Guy Foubert’s and his wife Liliane’s first names, which is celebrated to this day as a foundation of love and happiness that the company prides itself on.
#4. Wittamer
The Brand: in 1910, Henri Wittamer and his wife Marie opened a boulangerie in Brussels that was later passed onto their son Henri II and his wife Yvonne. Years later, the shop was again taken over by Henri II’s children, Henri III and Myriam. By the 1980s, the shop expanded to Japan and had been taken over by the family’s fourth generation. The brand has since become a well established Belgium chocolate, but that first original shop is still open to this day.
Need To Know: In 1999, the owners of the shop created a wedding cake for King Phillippe of Belgium, and ultimately Wittamer received the title of Certified Royal Warrant Holder of Belgium.
#5. Pierre Marcollini
The Brand: Pierre Marcollini is a patisserie chef that won the World Patisserie Championship at the age of 31 and to this day has over 40 prizes to his name. His belgium chocolate brand has been crafted over 20 years to create his own chocolate from raw materials and a carefully curated production process. Marcollini has spent his life determined to master every stage of creation, and has successfully launched a premium quality chocolate brand.
Need To Know: Pierre Marcollini strives to limit their carbon footprint as much as possible, including using recyclable packaging, shipping material, and solar panels.