Where your chocolate dollar goes
Cadbury
Dairy Milk Bunny $3
Who profits: Mondelez International. Valued at $105 billion with annual revenue of $38b. Shares sell on the Nasdaq exchange in New York for $72 (up 24 per cent this year). Other brands include The Natural Confectionary Company, Oreo, Pascall, Ritz, Milka, Cote d’Or and Toblerone
Shares owned by: Institutions and fund managers such as Vanguard, Blackrock and Invesco own 78 per cent. The general public own 22 per cent.
Lindt:
Gold Bunny $6
Who profits: Lindt & Sprungli. Valued at $17b with annual revenue of $6.8b. Shares sell on the SIX Swiss exchange in Zurich for $130,000 each. That’s correct, it takes almost 22,000 gold bunnies to buy a share in this company. Not splitting the share price is seen as a guard against speculative behaviour. Other brands include Whitmans, Russell Stover, Ghirardelli and Caffarel.
Shares owned by: The general public own 62 per cent and institutions 23 per cent with the remainder as an employee share scheme.
Nestle:
Rolo Boxed Egg $5
Who profits: Nestle S.A. Valued at $427b with annual revenue of $133b. Shares sell on the SIX Swiss exchange in Zurich for $139 (up 17 per cent this year). Local factories in Auckland and Marton produce $60 million in exports. Other brands include Scorched Almonds, Maggi, Movenpick, Haagen-Dazs, Milo, KitKat, Milky Bar and Purina pet food.
Shares owned by: The general public own 68 per cent. Institutions including hedge fund managers like Third Point own 32 per cent.
Ferrero Rocher:
Gold Squirrel $5
Who profits: Ferrero SpA. Annual revenue is $18b. Other brands include Nutella, Kinder and Tic Tac.
Shares owned by: Ferrero family (Italy). Known as one of the world’s most secretive firms. Michele Ferrero gave one interview in his life (wearing dark glasses) and died in 2015. His son, Giovanni, is believed to have a net worth of $40b. Ferrero consume 25 per cent of the world’s hazelnut supply. Their Kinder Surprise eggs are banned in the US because they have a non-nutritious object embedded.
Whittaker’s:
Gold Kiwi Egg $6
Who profits: J H Whittaker & Sons, owned by Brian and Andrew Whittaker. Based in Porirua and voted New Zealand’s most trusted brand in 2018. They’re the Kiwi Ferrero family, dating back generations and remain private on the financials. Revenue is estimated at $100m five years ago and exports are about 30 per cent of production.
Donovans:
Hollow Eggs $4.50
Who profits: Prolife Foods, based in Hamilton and owned by Bernard and Ann Crosby, Peter Fanning and Alan Duncan. They employ 1300 staff and generate revenue in excess of $250m. Other brands include Alison’s Pantry, Mother Earth and Flemings muesli bars.
Waikato Valley:
Hollow egg with buttons $3
Who profits: Waikato Valley Chocolate, owned by The Warehouse (Stephen Tindall, Norman Family etc.) and Michael and Myrie Razey. Formed in 1975, employ 40 staff and generate $10m to $15m in revenue. Exclusively supplies The Warehouse and own-brand labels.
Rainbow:
Marshmallow Easter Eggs $3
Who profits: Rainbow Confectionary, owned by Ray and Sandra White, Rodney and Dianna Thornton, Chris and Patrick Betty. Located in Oamaru, formed in 2001, employ 80-120 staff and generate revenue of $30m to $50m. Produce own-brand and Regina brands.
Hogarth:
Andy Warhol Egg $45
Who profits: Nelson-based Hogarth Chocolate Company, owned by Karl Hogarth. Formed in 2013, a bean-to-bar producer, international exporter and a gold medal winner at the World Chocolate Awards. On menus in Peter Gordon, Josh Emett and Simon Gault restaurants and taking on Ferrero with Kiwi-made hazelnut spread.
Devonport:
Chocolate Galaxy Egg $65
Who profits: Gourmet Village, owned by Stephanie and Terence Everitt, located in Devonport, Auckland. Formed in 1991, a staff of 15 and annual production of 20 tonnes with some bean-to-bar.