 | |
 Scharffen Berger factory in 2008 | |
| Company type |
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | John Scharffenberger Robert Steinberg |
| Fate | Acquired by Hershey Company in 2005,[1] returned to private ownership in 2021[2] |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Chocolate |
| Parent | Hershey (2005–21)[2] |
| Website | scharffenberger.com |
Scharffen Berger is an American chocolate manufacturing company, which was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company after it had been acquired in 2005.[1] Scharffen Berger was established as an independent Berkeley, California-based chocolate maker in 1996 by sparkling wine maker John Scharffenberger and physician Robert Steinberg.
The company manufactures its own chocolate—as opposed to the more common practice of acquiring chocolate from other manufacturers—the first American company founded in the past 50 years to make chocolate "from bean to bar." Scharffen Berger primarily produced chocolate bars, using small-batch processing and focusing on dark chocolate varieties with high cocoa solid content.
- ^ a b Hershey set to acquire dark-chocolate maker Scharffen Berger on Confectionery News, 1 Aug 2005
- ^ a b Watrous, Monica (20 June 2021). "Scharffen Berger returns to private ownership after Hershey sale". Food Business News. Retrieved 13 July 2021.