Haigh's Chocolates is an Australian family owned bean-to-bar chocolate making company based in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
. It was founded in 1915 by Alfred E. Haigh and now has retail outlets in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
and
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
.
History
Alfred E. Haigh was born in 1877 in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
. His first shop opened on 1 May 1915 at 34
King William Street and moved a few doors along to
Beehive Corner
The Beehive Corner is a landmark in the Adelaide city centre, on the north-eastern corner of King William Street and Rundle Street, centrally placed between the railway station and the city's shopping precinct.
History
The name gained curr ...
in 1922 on
Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. ...
and King William Street. The décor of the shop remains the same as when it first opened. John Haigh (Alfred's grandson) wanted to expand the chocolate making aspects of the business, and went to learn about chocolate manufacturing with
Lindt & Sprüngli
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, where its ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
to bring new techniques back to Australia.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Haigh's chocolates were sold in cinemas by "Tray Girls" and "Tray Boys". When cinema attendance fell, Haigh ventured to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
to expand his already popular business.
Corporate affairs
Chocolates stores
Haigh's Chocolates have seven stores in South Australia, three are located in the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
, including the Beehive Corner store in
Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. ...
, and
Adelaide Central Market. The Visitor Centre store also conducts viewing tours of the Parkside factory site that is located behind the store.
Melbourne has seven Haigh's stores, five in the CBD, including a flagship store in the
Block Arcade
The Block Arcade is an historic shopping arcade in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Constructed between 1891 and 1893, it is considered one of the late Victorian era's finest shopping arcades and ranks among Melbou ...
, the newest store is on
Elizabeth Street with suburban stores in
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
and
Toorak.
There are six Haigh's stores in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
in the
Queen Victoria Building,
The Strand Arcade
The Strand Arcade is a heritage-listed Victorian-style retail arcade located at 195-197 Pitt Street in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Mall and George Street in the City of Sydney local government area ...
,
Chatswood Chase
Chatswood Chase Sydney (previously known as Chatswood Chase) is a shopping centre in the suburb of Chatswood on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Transport
The Metro North West, North Shore and Northern lines ...
,
Westfield Bondi Junction,
Westfield Miranda
Westfield Miranda (previously known as Miranda Fair) is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Miranda in Sutherland Shire of Sydney.
Transport
The Cronulla line offers frequent services to Miranda Station located outside the centre.
We ...
and
Castle Towers. There is also a store in the
Canberra Centre
Canberra Centre is a large shopping centre located in the northern section of the Canberra City Centre, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, being the second largest centre in the Australian Capital Territory, behind Westfield Belconn ...
. Since October 2014, Haigh's has also sold its chocolate range online.
Products
Haigh's produces a variety of chocolate-based
confectionary
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...
, including regular chocolate
bars, blocks, loose chocolates and a variety of seasonal and gift products.
Awards and recognitions
In 2022, the company received a consumer award at the South Australian Premier’s Food and Beverage Industry Awards.
Miscellaneous
Haigh's supports Alternative Communities Trade in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of ...
(ACTIV), local chocolate-making company Aelan and local cocoa bean farmers from the region. The company has produced a single-origin Vanuatu chocolate bar through the cooperation.
Rabbits in Australia
European rabbits (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') were first introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet, and later became widespread likely because of Thomas Austin. Such wild rabbit populations are a serious mammalian pest an ...
, initially introduced to the continent by
European settlers in the 1700s, have become an unwanted pest since the late 1800s, causing widespread environmental and economic damage, and expensive control measures like the
rabbit-proof fence
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...
. In a clever piece of marketing, since Easter 1993, Haigh's has sold a chocolate
Easter Bilby
The Easter Bilby is an Australian alternative to the Easter Bunny.
Origin
Bilby, Bilbies are native Australian marsupials that are endangered. To raise money and increase awareness of conservation efforts, bilby-shaped chocolates and related ...
as an alternative to the
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" ori ...
.
See also
*
South Australian food and drink
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
References
External links
*{{Official website, https://www.haighschocolates.com.au/
Australian brands
Australian chocolate companies
Companies based in Adelaide
Retail companies established in 1915
Australian companies established in 1915
Food and drink companies established in 1915
Family-owned companies of Australia
Chocolateries