Chocolates Garoto S.A. is a Brazilian

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

manufacturer. Its headquarters are located in

Vila Velha Vila Velha (; Portuguese for "Old Village") is a coastal city in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It lies across from Vitória, the state capital. Its population was 501,325 (2020) and its area is 210.23 km². Location Vila Velha forms part of th ...

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

. The company was founded in 1929 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrant Heinrich Meyerfreund and acquired by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

in 2002.

History

Early history and launch of Garoto (1929-2001)

VISTA PARCIAL DE VILA VELHA ES - panoramio

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 Garoto

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

. 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,

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. 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%.

Products

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 Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

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.

References

External links

* Brazilian chocolate companies Companies based in Espírito Santo Food and drink companies established in 1929 Brazilian brands Vila Velha 2002 mergers and acquisitions 1929 establishments in Brazil Brazilian subsidiaries of foreign companies {{portal, Companies