Purdys Chocolatier is a Canadian

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, ...

, confectionery manufacturer, and retail operator. The company is based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

on the west coast of Canada. From its 57,000 square-foot (5,295 m²) factory, Purdys produces a variety of different chocolates and confectioneries that are distributed to all of its retail locations. These products include a variety of specialty chocolates; including truffles, hazelnut Hedgehogs, caramels, creams, moulded filled chocolates, caramels and clusters. Many individual outlets also prepare ice cream bars dipped and covered in toppings of ones choice in full view of customers. Purdys began expanding outside of British Columbia in 1970 with its first outlets opening in Alberta. Purdys then began expansion into Ontario in 2004. There are currently a total of over 70 stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

History

The company was founded in 1907 by Richard Cameron Purdy, who opened his first shop on

Robson Street Robson Street is a major southeast-northwest thoroughfare in downtown and West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its core commercial blocks from Burrard Street to Jervis were also known as Robsonstrasse. Its name honours John Robson, a ...

in Vancouver. According to the 1901 census Purdy's profession was listed as a barber. After the death of his son, Purdy moved from London, Ontario to British Columbia to start a new life in Vancouver. Purdy began experimenting with creating chocolate recipes in his Vancouver home kitchen, and then selling them on the streets. In this way, he developed a "small but enthusiastic" customer base. In 1907 Purdy set up his first chocolate shop on Robson Street, which was fast becoming a bustling downtown shopping district. In the 1920s Purdy encountered financial difficulty and was forced into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

. Several of Purdy's major creditors, not wanting to see the company close, sent in their top bookkeeper, Hugh Forrester, to help save the company. After a few years Forrester was able to put the company back on track, and pay back all of the company's debts. Having no interest themselves in running the company, and being so impressed with his performance, the creditors decided to sell the company to Forrester for $1. Richard Purdy continued to make chocolates after his business was sold, and sold his products from a street cart in Vancouver. He then went on to open a new chocolate shop in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

called Window Made Candy. He retired a few years later and died in February 1943. The 1940s saw Frank Forrester join his father, Hugh, in the family business, modernised production methods, and the moving of the company's factory to a larger facility on West 7th Avenue in Vancouver. The Forresters slowly expanded the company until the early 60s, when a conflict between the visions the father and son team had for the company led them to sell Purdys in 1963 to Charles Flavelle and Eric Wilson. Purdys expanded its presence and product lines throughout the 60s and 70s and 80s. Having originally only produced dark chocolates, they began offering milk chocolates and chocolate bars, among other products. 1971 saw Purdys open its first store outside of British Columbia in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In 1982 Purdys moved their factory and head office to a new 57,000 square-foot factory at Kingsway and Earles Street. In the early 90s, Purdys Chocolatier introduced its Hedgehog line of chocolates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purdys_Chocolates Canadian chocolate companies Food and drink companies established in 1907 Food and drink companies based in Vancouver Canadian brands Retail companies established in 1907 1907 establishments in British Columbia