Hachez facts for kids

Hachez was a famous chocolate company from Bremen, a city in northern Germany. It started way back in 1890. Two people, Joseph Emile Hachez and Gustav Linde, created it. Hachez was known for making delicious chocolates and pralines. The Feodora brand of chocolates joined Hachez in 1953.

In 2012, a Danish candy company called Toms bought Hachez. The company is now known as Hanseatisches Chocoladen Kontor. Since 2020, the chocolate production has moved to Nowa Sól in Poland.

History of Hachez Chocolate

How Hachez Began

The Hachez chocolate company was started by Joseph Emile Hachez and his business partner Gustav Linde in 1890. Joseph Emile Hachez's great-grandfather had moved to Bremen from Bruges in the 1700s.

In 1894, the company moved its main office and factory. It moved from the old part of Bremen to a new area called Neustadt, next to the Weser river. The company stayed there for many years. In 1910, Otto Friedrich Hasse became a partner in the company.

New Ideas and Challenges

In 1923, Otto Friedrich Hasse created a very popular product for Hachez. He made thin chocolate bars that looked like leaves. These were called Braune Blätter, which means "brown leaves." They became one of the company's most famous chocolates. After Joseph Emil Hachez passed away in 1933, Otto Friedrich Hasse became the only owner of Hachez.

During the Second World War, the Hachez factory was almost completely destroyed. After the war ended, they started rebuilding it. To help pay for the repairs, Hachez sold half of its company to another company called Zertus in 1953. Zertus also started making chocolate with Hachez in Bremen.

Changes in Ownership

In 1987, Hasso Nauck, who was Otto Friedrich Hasse's grandson, sold the rest of the family's share to Zertus. This meant Zertus then owned all of Hachez.

Later, in 2000, Hasso Nauck and his colleague Wolf Kropp-Büttner bought the Hachez company back. This is called a "management buyout." Nauck owned 60% of the company, and Kropp-Büttner owned 40%.

Moving Production to Poland

In 2012, Nauck and Kropp-Büttner sold their shares to the Danish company Toms Group. They stayed on as managers for a while. After Toms took over, Hachez faced some financial difficulties. In 2014, the company decided to reduce the number of jobs in Bremen. They also updated their chocolate packaging to make it more appealing to customers.

By the end of 2014, the packaging part of the business moved to Poland. However, the chocolate itself was still made in Bremen. In mid-2015, Hachez had about 360 employees in Germany.

On February 28, 2018, Toms announced that the Hachez factory in Bremen would close by the end of 2019. Since 2020, all Hachez chocolate production has taken place in Nowa Sól, Poland. The city of Bremen has plans for what to do with the old factory area. As of 2019, the HACHEZ brand is now sold by a new company called Hanseatisches Chocoladen Kontor GmbH & Co. KG.

Hachez also had a chocolate exhibition called Chocoversum in Hamburg from 2011 to 2021. Since 2021, it has continued as an independent chocolate museum.

How Hachez Chocolate is Made

Hachez mainly gets its cocoa beans from South America. The flavor is brought out by roasting the beans using hot air. After roasting, the cocoa is ground into a very fine powder, about 0.0010 to 0.0014 millimeters thick.

Then, the cocoa goes through a process called conching. This is where the chocolate mixture is stirred and kneaded for a long time, sometimes up to 72 hours! This makes the chocolate very smooth and gives it a rich flavor. In total, it takes over 100 hours to make Hachez chocolate products.

Where Hachez Chocolate is Sold

Hachez chocolate is sold in many countries around the world. Here are some of the places where you can find it: