Whittaker's
JH Whittaker & Sons, Ltd ( Whittaker’s ) is a New Zealand chocolate maker. It was founded in Christchurch in 1896 by James Henry Whittaker and the company later moved to Wellington . The company's headquarters are now in Porirua .
In 2013 the company had a 38% share of the New Zealand chocolate bar market. This put the company in second place behind market leader Cadbury , which Whittaker's predicts will overtake.
history
In England born James Henry Whittaker discovered his interest in chocolate until age 14, when he worked in a bakery. In 1890 he emigrated to New Zealand and moved to Christchurch. Whittaker began making chocolates in his own kitchen, which he sold door-to-door from a horse-drawn wagon. Whittaker founded his company in 1896. He and the company later moved to Wellington.
In 1913 Whittaker took his sons Ronald and James into partnership with the company. The company was subsequently renamed JH Whittaker and Sons .
Since 1978 the company has been controlled by Whittaker's grandchildren, Andrew and Brian. The brothers are known for their seclusion and have not had themselves photographed or interviewed for years. The last known interview with the brothers was in an article published in 1991.
Andrew's son Matt and daughter Holly now also work for their great-grandfather's company, which marks the 4th generation in the company's family management. Holly has been working as marketing manager and Matt in purchasing since 2013.
Production structure
The company's factory is located in Porirua, which is in the Wellington catchment area. Whittaker's is the only major chocolate manufacturer in New Zealand that carries out all further processing steps such as roasting and refining itself after importing the beans. Because of this complete production process, Whittaker's describes itself as a “bean-to-bar chocolate maker”.
The cocoa beans, which are imported from Ghana and Madagascar , are roasted in 180 kg batches in the Porirua factory. Approximately 14.7 million bars of chocolate are produced in the factory each year. The production process is directly monitored by the Whittaker brothers. While the offices of the other members of the company management are at the front of the building, the offices of the brothers are in a corner of the factory floor.
Whittaker's sources ingredients from all over the world, such as B. almonds from the USA , peanuts from South Africa and hazelnuts from Turkey . The company says it focuses on its ingredient choices to ensure the quality of its products. Whittaker's spent NZ $ 10 million in the early 2010s on a 5-roll refiner from the Swiss company Bühler , who continues to refine milk chocolate .
Markets
Whittaker's generates most of its sales in the New Zealand market. Right now, Whittaker's chocolate is the second best-selling chocolate in New Zealand after Cadbury's. The company had a 38% share of the New Zealand chocolate bar market in 2013. Whittaker's has also been winning the annual Readers Digest Most Trusted Brands survey regularly since 2011 , which Cadbury won six years in a row prior to 2011. In 2017 Whittaker's also won the Most Iconic Brands category. The survey, carried out by Australian market research firm Roy Morgan Research , asked 1,400 New Zealanders about their trust in certain brands.
Whittaker's made a lot of profits from Cadbury's palm oil crisis. In 2009, Cadbury decided to use cheaper palm oil instead of cocoa butter in the chocolate making process to reduce costs . However, the production of palm oil often means the deforestation of areas where endangered orangutans live. This decision by Cadbury caused a lot of outcry in New Zealand and, as a result, brought Whittaker's great sales growth. Within a year Whittaker's market share rose from 22% to 32%, and between 2009 and 2010 its retail sales rose from NZD $ 17 million to NZD27.6 million including exports. After this increase, the company's sales remained high. The palm oil crisis was therefore the turning point for the company that helped Whittaker's to its current large position in the New Zealand market.
Most of Whittaker's sales are still in New Zealand in 2017, but the company also exports its goods to Australia and, since April 2017, to 7 Asian countries, where they enjoy great success. The Almond Gold chocolate bar is the best-selling chocolate product in Singapore and Malaysia . Whittaker's is aiming for further expansion in Asia, particularly in emerging markets in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Myanmar . Other opportunities for further expansion include the Middle East and the United States. According to Matt Whittaker, the company is currently focused on China , largely because of the country's market size and changing demographics. As of August 2017, Whittaker's products have been sold in 1,500 Chinese stores in Shanghai , Beijing and Guangzhou . The products are also sold in all 400 Chinese Walmart stores, as well as through their online platforms. In December 2016 Whittaker's opened its flagship store on direct marketer internet platform T-Mall Whittaker's hopes to increase its exports from 30% to 40% of its total sales by 2022.
sorts
In 2013 Whittaker's range comprised 24 different standard varieties, whereas five years earlier there had been only 18 varieties. When Andrew and Brian Whittaker took over the company in 1978, Whittaker's only made 4 different products. Since 2013 the company has sold more than 70 different products.
There are also corresponding miniature versions of the chocolate bar of 12 types, whereby 12 individually wrapped pieces (15 grams per bar) of one type are combined in one pack. Whittaker's also sells 5 different types of individually packaged chocolate fingers (so-called “Santé chocolate bars”) and 4 different types of square chocolate bars (approx. 10.5 grams per bar).
The individual varieties are called, among other things, Peanut Butter ( peanut butter ), Berry and Biscuit ( berries with biscuits ) and Milk Caramel (milk chocolate with caramel ). The variety White Chocolate Raspberry ( white chocolate with raspberries ), which is no longer available, was inspired-Marsden Samuel school pupils of which had asked for a variety Whittaker's, which brings the "Taste of Pink" to the point for donations for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. Whittaker's has also introduced new products that have not been commercially successful. For example, there was a chocolate bar made of dark chocolate and ginger that was no longer sold after a few weeks. According to the company, the best-selling standard variety is Ghana Peppermint (Ghanaian chocolate with peppermint ), followed by Creamy Milk (milk chocolate) and Fruit and Nut (fruit and nuts). Only one variety ( Madagascar Milk ) is currently Fairtrade certified, but the company hopes to expand certification to its other varieties.
Whittaker's also has varieties that have emerged from partnerships with other companies. For example, there is the L&P chocolate bar, which was developed with the beverage company L&P , and the special Jelly Tip Block variety, which was developed together with the ice cream manufacturer TipTop . Probably New Zealand's most famous example of such a cooperation is chocolate milk, which arose from a partnership with the Lewis Road Creamery dairy . The resulting product, which consists of milk from this high-priced brand and Whittakers's chocolate melted in it, was so popular at the beginning of its sale that retail sales were limited to a few bottles per customer over several weeks. Whittaker's has also experimented with developing an ice cream product that uses the company's chocolate. The company had experimentally developed a peanut slab ice cream together with the Gourmet Ice Cream Company . In December 2012 Whittaker's launched a new range of gourmet ice cream in partnership with the high-end brand Killinchy Gold .
Advertising campaigns
Despite their seclusion, Whittaker brothers Andrew and Brian are often mentioned in Whittaker's advertising campaigns to emphasize that the company is still family-owned. However, the brothers themselves never appear in the company's commercials. Instead, the company uses other advertising media. For example, Nigella Lawson often introduces new chocolates in her Whittaker's advertisements, stating that the brothers sent her the chocolate. The Lawson advertisements are an example of the company's diverse advertising campaigns, such as the “Good Honest Chocolate” campaign, in which politicians can't lie after enjoying a Whittaker's Peanut slab. Lawson is reported to be well paid for her performances, but she says she only accepted the role after trying the chocolate herself to make sure it met her standards. In the Most Trusted Brand survey, one respondent stated that he placed his trust in Whittaker's because the company did not use any packaging gimmicks. In the eyes of Tom Agee, Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Auckland , Whittaker's local "Kiwi" identity is also an important reason for the company's great success in the New Zealand market.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b J.H. Whittaker. JH Whittaker and Sons, Ltd., accessed September 22, 2017 .
- ↑ 2nd generation. JH Whittaker and Sons, Ltd., accessed September 22, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Laugesen, Ruth: Whittaker's Brand of brothers. Noted, July 11, 2014, accessed August 30, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Crossley, Jazial: Honest to goodness Kiwi success. stuff., January 7, 2013, accessed on September 28, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Lessons in Whittaker's Tasty Marketing. August 4, 2015, accessed August 30, 2017 .
- ^ A b c Reidy, Madison: Whittaker's still Kiwis' most trusted brand, but Samsung is out. stuff, May 22, 2017, accessed August 30, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Nadkarni, Anuja: Whittaker's scoping new Asian markets. stuff, April 9, 2017, accessed August 28, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Products. JH Whittaker and Sons, Ltd., accessed August 26, 2017 .