Chocolates Garoto S.A. is a Brazilian chocolate manufacturer. Its headquarters are located in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo. The company was founded in 1929 by German immigrant Heinrich Meyerfreund and acquired by Nestlé in 2002.
History
Early history and launch of Garoto (1929-2001)
Panoramic view of Brazilian city Vila Velha with the yellow and red Garoto factory.
The company Chocolates Garoto was founded on August 16, 1929, by the German immigrant Heinrich Meyerfreund, with the name of candy factory H. Meyerfreund & Cia., in a warehouse located in Prainha, a neighborhood located in the city of Vila Velha in the Brazilian state Espírito Santo. Garoto started by producing the Pastilha Garotomint. The first candies were first sold at the local tram stops in Vila Velha and subsequently distributed to commercial clients, both in the capital and in other major cities of the state.
In 1934, Heinrich Meyerfreund received an inheritance from his parents and bought machines for the production of chocolates. Two years later, he obtained financing to set up a more modern factory in the Glória neighborhood, where Garoto's industrial park still stands today. With new infrastructure and chocolate-based products, the company entered a phase of strong growth and began selling beyond the limits of Espírito Santo.
In 1938, business was boosted when Günther Zennig joined the company. He brought in new investments and expanded and modernized the production and commercial structure of the company, bringing with him a new entrepreneurial vision for Garoto.
Acquisition and recent history (2002-today)
In 2002, Nestlé acquired Garoto for around $240 million. In 2004 however, the sale was vetoed by the Brazilian competition authority (CADE) in order to keep a healthy level of competition in the domestic chocolate market.[1] In the following years, Garoto was therefore owned by Nestlé but operated separately. Nestlé continued to explore options for a full integration and in 2016, after more than 10 years of negotiation, the company announced to be close to signing a deal with CADE for a full merger. The conditions included that the company has to sell several brands to avoid a market concentration above 40%.[2]
Products
A Garoto chocolate
Today, Garoto is one of Brazil's largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It exports its chocolate to various countries. Garoto's chocolate candy bars are distributed by a variety of distributors. Walgreens had sold Garoto's candies under the brand name of Regal Dynasty, but has recently switched to a Polish supplier.
Sponsorships
On January 16, 2013, the company signed sponsorship of 200 million reais with FIFA and the CBF to be the official chocolate of the Confederations Cup 2013 and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[3]
1 Currently manufactured by General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by General Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license. 3 U.S. production rights owned by The Hershey Company. 4 U.S. rights and production owned by the Smarties Candy Company with a different product. 5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by Associated British Foods. 6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland. Produced by Post Foods elsewhere. 8 Philippine production rights owned by Alaska Milk Corporation. 9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned by Fraser and Neave. 10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. 11 Used only in the Philippines. 12 U.S. production rights owned by the Ferrara Candy Company. 13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019. 14 Brand owned by Mars, sold by Nestlé in Canada. 15 Produced by Froneri in the U.S. since 2020.
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