Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was founded in 1852 by Italian immigrant Domenico Ghirardelli. Ghirardelli was apprenticed as a child to a candy maker. He continued to make and sell his own chocolate company after immigrating to the United States. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is the third oldest chocolate company in America.
Today, the company is owned by Swiss chocolate makers Lindt and Sprungli. Although the parent company is based in Switzerland, Ghirardelli remains in the US, with headquarters in San Leandro, California.
One of the only chocolate makers in the US that controls every single aspect of the manufacturing process, the company uses only the finest seeds and rejects a full 40% of the cocoa seeds sent to them. Ghirardelli products are sold all over the world. In addition to candy, the company also offers drinks and sauces.
