François-Louis Cailler (11 June 1796 – 6 April 1852) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

entrepreneur and early

chocolatier A chocolatier ( ; ; ) is a person or company that makes and sells chocolate confections. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other raw ingredients. Chocolatiers work artisanally with pre- ...

who founded

Cailler Cailler is a Swiss chocolate brand and production factory based in Broc. It was founded in Vevey by François-Louis Cailler in 1819 and remained independent until the early 20th century, when it associated with other producers. Shortly before, ...

, the first modern brand of

Swiss chocolate Swiss chocolate (; ; ) is chocolate produced in Switzerland. Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality with many famous international chocolate brands. Switzerland is particularly renowned for its milk cho ...

and the oldest still in existence, in 1819.

Biography

Cailler was born in

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

, in the

canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

, on 11 June 1796, in a family originally from Daillens. After an apprenticeship as a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

in Vevey, he travelled to

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

where, in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, he learned the art of chocolate-making from Ticinese chocolatiers based there. After returning to Switzerland in 1818, Cailler began a partnership with Abram L.C. Cusin of

Aubonne Aubonne () is a municipality in the district of Morges in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. In 2011 the former municipality of Pizy merged into Aubonne and on 1 January 2021 Montherod merged into it. History The municipality was settled ve ...

, operating a grocery business in Vevey under the name of ''Cailler & Cusin''. The following year, in 1819, he set up a chocolate factory in a converted former

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

, in Corsier, near Vevey, thus establishing what would become the Cailler company, and the world’s first mechanised chocolate factory. Cailler perfected a technique to solidify chocolate and make tablets. Starting in 1820, Cailler rented additional factory space in the area in order to produce chocolate in larger scale. The partnership with Cusin, however, was dissolved the following year, and by 1826 Cailler's business went bankrupt. Around this time he married Louise-Albertine Perret, from

Boudry Boudry is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel in Switzerland. History Boudry is first mentioned in 1278 as ''Baudri''. There are numerous prehistoric settlemen ...

. After the company's recover, Cailler bought two new water powered factories in Corsier-sur-Vevey and Vevey. He died in Corsier on 6 April 1852. His wife Louise-Albertine continued to run the company along with their sons, Auguste and Alexandre.

Legacy

In 1875, his son-in-law

Daniel Peter Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey, he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inve ...

had the idea of combining the chocolate with his neighbor

Henri Nestlé Henri Nestlé (; born Heinrich Nestle, ; 10 August 1814 – 7 July 1890) was a German-born Swiss confectioner and the founder of Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company. Early life Heinrich Nestle was born on 10 August 1814 in Fr ...

's condensed milk to make

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing Chocolate liquor, cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed types of chocolate, type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of chocolate bar, bars, tablets and other confectione ...

. The companies of Peter and Charles-Amédée Kohler, which were already partners, merged with Cailler in 1911, then run by François-Louis' grandson, Alexandre-François-Louis Cailler (1866–1936), to form the firm ''Peter, Cailler, Kohler, Chocolats Suisses S.A'', which was later purchased by the food industry giant

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

, in 1929.

Notes and references

External links

Official website of Cailler

Cailler Profile
– Chocolate Reviews
Maison Cailler – swiss chocolate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cailler, Francois-Louis Swiss businesspeople 1796 births 1852 deaths Swiss chocolatiers Businesspeople in confectionery People from Vevey Swiss industrialists 19th-century Swiss businesspeople Swiss company founders