Charles-Amédée Kohler (born Charles-Gottlieb Kohler; 15 June 1790 – 15 September 1874) was a Swiss

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- ...

and entrepreneur who founded

Chocolat Kohler Chocolat Kohler was a chocolate producer based in Lausanne, founded in 1830 by the Kohler brothers. It is currently a brand owned by Nestlé. Kohler notably introduced hazelnut chocolate, which was perhaps the first combination chocolate bar. ...

. He notably invented

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

chocolate, in his factory opened in 1830 in Lausanne. After his death the Kohler company continued in the

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 ...

industry. It merged in 1904 with the

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and in 1911 with the

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, ...

chocolate brands; before being finally purchased by

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.

Biography

Kohler was born on 15 June 1790 in Lausanne, to Gottlieb (later known by the gallicized version of his name, Amédée) Kohler, a merchant of

colonial goods In economics, colonial goods are goods imported from European colonies, in particular coffee, tea, spices, rice, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, and tobacco. At a time when food and agriculture represented a relatively large proportion of overall ec ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

from

Büren an der Aare Büren an der Aare (usually abbreviated with Büren a.A., means ''Büren on the Aare'') is a historic town and a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Büren an der Aare is first ment ...

, and Anne Ernst. While still young he joined his father's business that operated in the city since 1793, and in 1817 formed a partnership with his brother, Frédéric, and father to form the

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

firm ''Amédée Kohler et Fils'' (Amédée Kohler & Sons). In 1830, he bought a mill in downtown Lausanne and established a chocolate factory, where he eventually created the recipe for chocolate mixed with

. After his father's death in 1833, Kohler became fully dedicated to the chocolate making business, and Frédéric left the firm the following year. In 1849, he acquired a sawmill in Sauvabelin, a neighbourhood in the suburbs of Lausanne, which he converted into a factory and to where he transferred the production. In 1865, Kohler retired from the company and passed the administration to his sons Charles-Amédée and Adolphe. He died in Lausanne on 15 September 1874.

Notes

References

External links

Finedarkchocolate.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohler Swiss chocolatiers 1790 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Swiss inventors People from Lausanne Swiss industrialists Swiss company founders 19th-century Swiss businesspeople