Association of German Chocolate Manufacturers
The Association of German Chocolate Manufacturers was founded on January 6, 1877 in Frankfurt (am Main) . Guidelines in the areas of quality , quality assurance and quality control were established (purity law for chocolate). These measures strengthened customers' trust in good chocolate products and increased their sales.
Members
20 German companies were involved in the founding, including five from Dresden , the center of German chocolate production at the time. The Dresden companies were Hartwig & Vogel , Petzold & Aulhorn , Otto Rüger , Lobeck & Co. , Guth & Birnbaum . The number of members increased over the years
- 1881 to 50 members
- 1901 to 76 members
- 1926 to 178 members.
In 1934, the association was dissolved in the course of the NS synchronicity.
Other "big" members were Richard Selbmann , Jordan & Timaeus , Gerling & Rockstroh (Gero) , Riedel & Engelmann .
Association headquarters and chairman
The seat of the association was at the place of residence of the chairman or the syndic.
- 1877–1879 Stuttgart (place of residence of the chairman)
- 1879–1891 Mannheim
- since 1891 Dresden
Dresden chocolate manufacturers held the presidency from 1881–1897 ( Otto Rüger ), 1906–1911 ( Heinrich Vogel ) and since 1922 (Max Rüger). The secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Member of Parliament Paul Schulze (1891–1905), the co-founder of the “ Association of Saxon Industrialists ” and later Chancellor Gustav Stresemann (1901–1904) and the managing director of several business associations Carl Greiert (since 1907).
Content of the controls
The quality control concerned the checking of the ingredients. A product could only be called chocolate if it contained pure cocoa and sugar. Cocoa could not be replaced by starch, flour or rusks.
Proof of good quality
An association brand had existed since 1878, which guaranteed the purity of the products. Every manufacturer who wanted to display this brand on their products had to allow unannounced quality controls in their factory. The brand was an oval symbol with the text "GARANTIRT REIN CACAO - ASSOCIATION OF GERMAN CHOCOLATE FABRICANTS" or "GARANTIRT REIN CACAO & ZUCKER - ASSOCIATION OF GERMAN CHOKOLADE FABRIKANTEN". In the middle was a coat of arms.
Consequences of poor quality
Professional chemists regularly examined the products of the members of the association. If substances rejected by the association were used, the first time a warning was given, the second time a fine of between 50 and 100 marks was imposed and the third time the company was excluded from the association. Furthermore, the violation with details of the reasons for exclusion was published in several daily newspapers.
Presentation of the association
In 1897 advertisements read:
“German industry. The German cocoa and chocolate industry is able to produce its products in an affordable and excellent quality thanks to the highest level of perfection in the operating facilities and the use of the most advantageous sources of supply. The above guarantee marks of the undersigned association offer a guarantee for the exact handling of the provisions of the food law, which do not exist in such strictness in any other country. The members of the Association of German Chocolate Manufacturers. "
The two logos described above were embedded in the text.
From 1901 to 1904 Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929) worked as an assistant, i.e. as a kind of manager and lobbyist, at the association. He succeeded in bringing about a balance of interests among the differently structured member companies. At his initiative, an agreement was reached on a minimum price for the products. This agreement only ended after Stresemann left and in 1906 led to a long price war. In order to limit the dependency on suppliers, he successfully proposed the construction of his own sugar factory outside the sugar cartel. It is remarkable that Stresemann was one of the first association representatives to conduct systematic press work.
Association of associations
Together with two other associations, the "Confectionery Industry Section" was formed in the 1930s.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Irina Krauter and Yvonne Höppner: How did the exclusive product chocolate become a mass product? , Seminar course work ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Special exhibition in the Dresden City Museum : Chocolate City Dresden - Sweets from Florence on the Elbe, November 30, 2013 to March 2, 2014
- ↑ Dr. A. Kreutz: Cocoa and Chocolate; Publisher: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft mbH; Leipzig 1914
- ↑ How it all began - Chocolate manufacturers demand purity. (PDF; 2.64 MB) Lindt & Imhoff Chocolate Museum , February 2, 2012, p. 1 , accessed on December 22, 2013 .
- ^ Kurt Koszyk: Gustav Stresemann. The democrat loyal to the emperor. A biography. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-462-02002-1 , pp. 86-91.
- ↑ How it all began - Chocolate manufacturers demand purity. (PDF; 2.64 MB) Lindt & Imhoff Chocolate Museum , February 2, 2012, p. 2 , accessed on December 22, 2013 .
