A comprehensive timeline of chocolate history - from the Ancient Maya in 1500 BC to the introduction of popular brands of chocolate we all know today and all the way to 2026.
The history of chocolate has always fastinated me. From how it was first cultivated in Central America as a bitter hot chocolate drink and then brought over to Europe and gradually developed into a chocolate bar for eating, pralines, truffles and other delicious chocolate treats.
As you will see the history of chocolate timeline starts a very long time ago, but the recent history is also fascinating, since it's only about 90 years since chocolatiers developed white chocolate bar!
1500 BC - Early history of cocoa in Central America
1,500 BC: The people of Central America begin to drink chocolate and are considered to be the first who invented chocolate. The cacao tree may have been cultivated earlier than people first thought.
Linguistic links to the words cacao and chocolate can be traced back to the Olmec peoples which pre-dates Maya and Atzec civilisation by several hundred years. Cocoa beans are full of interesting facts and the cacao tree is a very special plant that needs specific climate and environment to prosper.
900 AD: Maya Civilisation: Pottery cups found in the tombs of Maya nobility contain symbols for cacoa and images for its preparation.
1500s: Since cocoa beans are difficult to harvest, the Aztecs drink chocolate rather than eat it. The drink was made by mixing the roasted, ground cacao beans with water, flavouring it with herbs or spices (chilli was common) and then stimulating the mixture until foamy by pouring it from one vessel to another. The drink is bitter tasting and not sweet in any way. In this form, the drinking chocolate, consisting of pure cocoa was very healthy and full of nutrients.
1492 Columbus discovers America and whislt he brings back cocoa beans to Europe, at the time nobody realises the importance of this new food.
1500s - Cocoa is brought to Europe
1528: The Spanish conquestors led by Hernan Cortez bring chocolate or rather cocoa bean back to mainland Spain. The Spanish find chocolate too dark and bitter and start to add cane sugar to chocolate. They also infuse chocolate with vanilla and other lighter spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, allspice and cinnamon to give the finished chocolate a sweeter taste.
1540s: An Aztec document containing a list of price equivalents designated the value of a tomato as one cacao bean, while an avocado was worth three, and a "good turkey hen" was worth 100 "full" or 120 "shrunken" cacao beans. Since there is only about 60 cocoa beans in one cocoa pod, this was a great amount of currency.
1570s - Hot chocolate is becoming a popular drink
1569 - the new chocolate drink got a seal of approval from Pop Pius V, who proposed that people can drink chocolate on Fridays (and during Easter Lent) and it won't break the fast, which was a normal thing to do at the time. This possibly happened because the Pope didn't like chocolate and didn't care if people consumed it or not.
1585 - the first ship with cocoa beans intended for sale arives in Spain
1600s: Chocolate drinking spreads to other parts of Europe.
1609: The first ever book dedicated to chocolate is published in Mexico and it's called ' Libro an el cual se trata del chocolate'
1643: chocolate makes it to France as Spanish Princes Maria Theresa gives her new husband Louise XIV of France a beautifully carved wooden chest full of cocoa beans and chocolate becomes very popular during his long reign as a king.
1660s - Chocolate houses are opening in Europe
1657: A chocolate house opens in England by a Frenchman where you can buy a drink of chocolate. Diarist Samuel Pepys makes regular mention of visiting chocolate drinking houses and the early history of chocolate in England starts here.
1662: as chocolate becomes more popular the Pope decides that whilst drinking chocolate is fine, eating chocolate during a fast is not. This is where the tradition of giving up chocolate for Lent comes in and even today lot of people don't eat chocolate 40 days before Easter.
1674: chocolate is used for the first time as an ingredient to bake a cake and rolls by a London coffee house called 'At the Coffee Mill and Tabacco Roll'
1704: chocolate is starting to be imported to Germany, but the king insists on taxing this new fancy food
1711: chocolates makes it to Vienna as the Spanish king moves his royal court from Madrid to Viennna
1753: Scientific Classification. The Swedish biologist, Carolus Linnaeus gives the botanical name Theobroma cacao to the chocolate tree. Theobroma, in Latin, means "food of the gods," while cacao refers to the native word for the plant. The cocoa tree grows around the equator, where the most important cocoa beans producing countries are based.
1760s - The first larger scale cocoa manufacturing
1765 The first chocolate factory in America opens. Using an old grist mill, Dr Baker and Mr Hannon ground cacao beans into chocolate liquor and pressed the paste into cakes meant to be made into drinking chocolate. After Hannon was lost at sea on a cacao buying expedition, Baker’s family continued production until the firm was bought out by General Foods in 1927.
1780: the first ever machine made chocolate is created in Spain (Barcelona)
1792: the first chocolate factory opens in Berlin, Germany
1795 Steam engines are used to grind cocoa beans making chocolate cheaper, as part of the Industrial Revolution and James Wyatt’s invention of the steam engine in 1765.
1800: the first industrial chocolate factory is built by Antoine Brutus Menier
1828 The Invention of Dutch Cocoa. Inventions are made that will result in chocolate becoming a commodity to be eaten as well as drunk. Coenraad Van Houten develops a process for making chocolate powder by using hydraulic pressure to remove almost half of the cocoa butter from chocolate liquor.
1840s - The first chocolate bar is made
1847 The first chocolate bar from the list of many British chocolate bars is made by Quaker Joseph Fry.
1849: the world first ever chocolate exhibition was put together by Cadburry's in Bingley Hall in Birmingham (England)
1853: the import taxes on cocoa beans are reduced in England, which means that the price can come down and drinking chocolate can be enjoyed by more people
1854 Cadburys receives a Royal Warrant to be the sole purveyor of cocoa and chocolate to Queen Victoria. In 1866, Cadbury's sons, Richard and George, who had taken over the business, purchased a Van Houten machine for the factory and began to market their own cocoa powder.
1868: Cadbury markets the first box of chocolates in 1868; decorated and packaged in a sentimental Victorian style.
1870s - Milk chocolate is invented
1875: Milk chocolate is invented by Henri Nestle, initially from a formula meant for babies for sweetened condensed milk .
1879: Rodolphe Lindt (Switzerland) invents the conching machine which makes chocolate smooth and starts making chocolate fondant. It also means that chocolate can be better tempered.
1890’s: American Milton Hersey starts production coating his original caramel and candies with chocolate. He goes on to create more iconic American chocolate candy bars with different flavours such as Cookie & Cream, White Chocolate and others.
1899: Queen Victoria sends every one of her soldiers fighting in the Boer War a chocolate bar
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1900s - Chocolate is becoming everyday treat
1900: Switzerland takes over Spain in the terms of chocolate consumption - a record that's been holding for most of the next 125 years. At the time Germany is on the top of yearly consumption per person followed by USA, France and then Enland.
1905: Dairy Milk is introduced
1908: Toblerone goes on sale developed by Jean Tobler, in its famous triangular shape after the Swiss Mountains where he lived.
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1910: Walnut Whip goes on sale
1913: Swiss chocolatier, Jules Sechaud develops the filled chocolate bonbon.
1915 Milk Tray goes on sale
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1930s The golden age of chocolate bars production
1920 Flake goes on sale
1921 Fruit and Nut goes on sale
1923 Milky Way goes on sale in the USA
1925: cocoa trading becomes to important, that New York (USA) establishes a separate Cocoa Exchange as part of their World Trade Centre
1926: Belgian Godiva Chocolatier first goes on sale and becomes of the most recognisable Belgian chocolate brands in the world
1929 Crunchie goes on sale
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1930’s: Ruth Wakefield invents chocolate chip cookies after running out of baking chocolate. Originally, the chopped up improvised Nestle chocolate bar was supposed to blend into the mixture, rather than standing out and being visible.
1930 Snickers and Freddo go on sale
1932 Mars Bar goes on sale. So does Terry's Chocolate Orange and All Gold.
1933 Whole Nut goes on sale. So does Black Magic.
1935 Aero and Kit Kat are introduced
1930s - White chocolate is invented
1936 Nestle are the first chocolate company in the world to produce white chocolate bar, by excluding the cocoa mass from the chocolate coverture and increasing the amount of milk powder and sugar. It's called 'Galak' and it's still sold by the Nestle company to this day.
1936 Maltesers and Blue Riband go on sale. Dairy Box and Quality Street also go on sale.
1937 Smarties, Rolo and Milky Bar go on sale
1938 Cadbury's Roses go on sale.
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1941-1945: US military servicemen issued with three, four-ounce chocolate bars, containing around 600 calories per bar.
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1950s - End of chocolate rationing after the war
1953: End of chocolate rationing in the UK – a full eight years after the end of the 2nd World War.
1955: The First TV Advert The history of British media changed forever on 22nd September when ITV (the UK’s first commercial channel) launched. The very first night of broadcasting featured an advert for Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate. It was the first time a chocolate brand entered British living rooms through a screen rather than a billboard.
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1960s - Chocolate gets taxed
1960: Galaxy goes on sale
1962: The Launch of After Eight Rowntree's created the After Eight thin mint. It was a revolutionary product that defined "middle-class sophistication" in the 60s. The clock on the box permanently set to 8:01 PM suggested that chocolate wasn't just for kids—it was a refined "after-dinner" ritual for adults.
1962: The Purchase Tax Shock For the first time, the British government introduced a 15% Purchase Tax on chocolate and confectionery. Previously considered a "food" and therefore tax-exempt, the move officially reclassified chocolate as a "luxury/snack" in the eyes of the law, a debate that still impacts VAT on chocolate-covered biscuits today.
1963: Toffee Crisp goes on sale
1967: Twix goes on sale
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1971: Yorkie, Double Decker and Lion Bar go on sale
1973: The EEC "Chocolate War" Begins When the UK joined the European Economic Community (now the EU), a "Chocolate War" broke out. European nations (particularly France and Belgium) objected to British chocolate being called "chocolate" because it used vegetable fats instead of 100% cocoa butter. The legal battle over the definition of "British Milk Chocolate" lasted for nearly 30 years.
1974: The Kinder Surprise Phenomenon Ferrero launched the Kinder Surprise (Kinder Egg). It combined the two things children loved most—chocolate and toys—and became a global sensation, though it famously faced a ban in the US that persists to this day due to safety regulations regarding "non-nutritive" objects inside food.
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1980s - The rise of single origin chocolate
1980: Valrhona introduces the concept of the single origin chocolate bar, making their first with beans exclusively from cocoa bean variety from South America. The 70% cacao bar is named Guanaja in honor of the island of Guanaja, off Honduras, where Christopher Columbus first tasted chocolate almost 500 years earlier. They call it a Grand Cru chocolate
1982: E.T. and the Reese's Pieces Boom In one of the most famous product placements ever, the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial featured Reese's Pieces. Sales of the candy reportedly tripled within weeks of the film's release, cementing the "peanut butter chocolate" trend.
1983: Wispa goes on sale - Cadbury launched a massive "teaser" ad campaign for the national rollout of Wispa with the slogan "Have you heard the latest Wispa?" It featured famous comedy duos like Victoria Wood and Julie Walters but didn't actually show the chocolate bar at first.
1984: The Birth of the "Twirl" Originally launched in Ireland as a trial, the Twirl was introduced to the UK this year. It was essentially two fingers of Flake-style chocolate ripples covered in a smooth chocolate coating to prevent the "crumble" mess of a standard Flake.
1985: The "Mighty" Boost Cadbury launched the Boost bar. Over the decade, it became famous for its various fillings (like Coconut Boost and Peanut Boost) and its later surreal ads featuring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.
1988: Nestlé Buys Rowntree’s In a massive industry shake-up, Swiss giant Nestlé acquired the British company Rowntree’s. This brought classic UK brands like KitKat, Aero, and Smarties under Swiss ownership, changing the global chocolate landscape forever.
1990: The "Marathon" Becomes "Snickers" In one of the most famous rebrands in UK history, Mars changed the name of the Marathon bar to Snickers to align with the global brand name. Many UK fans still haven't quite forgiven them for it!
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1990s Modern chocolate - experiments & new flavours
1990: Chocolate for the Frontline During the Gulf War, Hershey’s developed the "Desert Bar," a heat-resistant chocolate designed to withstand temperatures up to 60°C (140°F) without melting. It used a special formula originally created during WWII so soldiers in hot climates could still have a taste of home.
1994: The White Chocolate Revolution White chocolate went "crunchy" this year with two massive launches: Hershey’s Cookies 'n' Creme and the White Chocolate Toblerone. Both proved that consumers were ready for white chocolate to be more than just "plain," leading to a boom in "Cookies and Cream" flavoured everything.
1999: The Birth of the "Heroes" To mark the end of the millennium, Cadbury launched Cadbury Heroes in the UK. This followed the success of Mars Celebrations (1997) and fundamentally changed how people shared chocolate at Christmas—moving from "boxes of chocolates" to "tubs of miniature bars."
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2000 - Chocolate in the new milenium
2000: The Ivory Coast in West Africa becomes the world's largest producer of cacao beans mostly harvested from smallholdings.
2001: A 100-year-old bar of Cadbury's chocolate, which had travelled with Captain Robert Scott on his first expedition to the Antarctic, was sold at an auction in London for £470. It was found in a cigarette tin and was remarkably well-preserved, proving that chocolate has an excellent "shelf-life" and almost no expiry date.
2002: While the cookie was nearly a century old, the street in New York where the first Oreo was made (9th Avenue) was ceremonially renamed "Oreo Way" to celebrate the brand's heritage.
2003: The "Project Vishwas" Packaging Revolution In India, Cadbury turned a PR crisis into a positive industry standard. They introduced high-tech, heat-sealed poly-flow packaging across the country. This became the gold standard for tropical climates, ensuring chocolate stayed fresh and safe in heat, which eventually influenced how chocolate is packed globally.
2004: Mars launched the Mars Delight, a lighter, crispy wafer-based bar that became an immediate sensation. Its later discontinuation in 2008 remains one of the most complained-about losses in UK confectionery history.
2005: The popular Cadbury Freddo saw its first major price increase from the iconic 10p to 15p. This served as an early indicator of rising production costs and inflation that would eventually make the Freddo's price a popular UK metric for the cost of living.
2006: The Rise of the "Superfood" Trend This year marked the official "health-food" breakout for dark chocolate. A series of major studies highlighted the benefits of cocoa flavanols for heart health, leading to a massive surge in 70%+ cocoa bar sales and the birth of "dark chocolate snobbery" in a fun, health-conscious way.
2007: Hershey's celebrated its 100th anniversary by creating the world's largest Hershey's Kiss, weighing a staggering 30,540 lbs.
2008: The Return of the Wispa In one of the first and greatest "fan-power" victories of the internet age, a massive Facebook campaign forced Cadbury to bring the Wispa bar back permanently. It sold 20 million bars in just eight weeks, proving that nostalgia was the most powerful ingredient in confectionery.
2009: The Ethical Mainstream Cadbury Dairy Milk officially earned its Fairtrade certification in the UK. This was a massive win for the industry, as it was the first time a "top-tier" mass-market product committed to ethical sourcing, ensuring millions of farmers received a better deal and bringing "conscious indulgence" to every corner shop.
2010: In a move that changed the UK business landscape, American giant Kraft Foods (now Mondelēz) acquired Cadbury for £11.5 billion. The hostile takeover was highly controversial, leading to public protests and a government inquiry after Kraft broke promises to keep UK factories open.
2010s - Ruby chocolate is invented
2010: The 4-Ton Chocolate Bar – An Armenian company, Grand Candy, set a Guinness World Record by creating a massive chocolate bar weighing 4,410kg (about the size of an adult elephant).
2011: The "Wonka" Hotel – To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a London hotel opened a "Wonka Suite" featuring chocolate-scented wallpaper and edible decor.
2012: The Mars Rover Treat – When the Curiosity rover landed on Mars, Mars Inc. sent special commemorative M&Ms to the NASA flight team to celebrate the "planetary" brand connection.
2013: 3D-Printed Chocolate – 3D printing technology for food hit the mainstream, allowing users to "print" intricate, custom chocolate designs for the first time.
2014: The First "Ruby" Glimpse – Although not released for years, this was the year Barry Callebaut perfected the secret process for brand new ruby chocolate —the first new natural colour since white chocolate.
2015: The "Healthy" KitKat – Nestlé announced it had found a way to hollow out sugar crystals to reduce sugar by 40% in its bars without losing sweetness, starting a major health-tech trend.
2016: The Toblerone Gap – Toblerone sparked an international outcry by increasing the "gap" between the peaks of its UK bars to reduce weight, a move famously dubbed "Peak Shrinkflation."
2017: Ruby Chocolate Launch – The world was officially introduced to Ruby Chocolate (pink and berry-flavored) in Shanghai, the first new category of chocolate in 80 years.
2017: The average Briton ate 11.2kg (24.7lb) of chocolate - the equivalent of munching through 266 Mars bars. This accounted for almost a third of the European market. In total, its estimated that the UK consumed 661million kg of cocoa-based products per year.
2018: Chocolate from the Sea – Artisan makers began a major trend of "Seaweed Chocolate," using kelp and dulse to create a savory, umami-rich bar that became a hit in the UK.
2019: Cadbury's Wordless Bar – Cadbury released a "wordless" bar in the UK, removing all text from its Dairy Milk packaging to raise awareness for the charity Age UK and loneliness among the elderly.
2020s - The home chocolate making boom & Dubai Chocolate craze
2020: The Pandemic Baking Boom – With the world in lockdown, global sales of chocolate chips and baking cocoa surged by over 50% as "quarantine baking" became a global coping mechanism.
2021: Space-Aged Chocolate – French startup Space Cargo Unlimited returned 12 bottles of wine and several vine canes from the ISS, sparking a luxury trend of "space-aged" cocoa experiments.
2022: The Vegan Revolution – This year saw the "Big Three" (Cadbury, Nestlé, and Hershey's) all launch major plant-based versions of their flagship bars (like the Plant-Based KitKat) globally.
2023: The £8M Cadbury Quest – Merlin Entertainments invested £8 million into Cadbury World in Birmingham, replacing the "Cadabra" ride with a high-tech "Chocolate Quest" adventure.
2024: The Dubai Chocolate Viral Craze – The FIX Dessert Chocolatier bar (filled with pistachio and crispy knafeh) went viral on TikTok, sparking a worldwide pistachio-chocolate frenzy.
2024: The consumer taste is changing slightly and there is a trend of artisan chocolates made with less sugar, single origin chocolates and dark chocolates. The consumption of chocolates across the first 10-15 countries has also changed with England coming down the table (which is not a bad thing!).
Switzeland is still taking the world first place with each person eating just under 9 kg of chocolate per year. The next place takes Austria and Germany with 8 kg per person and then Ireland, United Kingdom with around 7 kg of chocolate per person.
2025: The Rise of "Blonde" and "Browned Butter" – Caramelized white chocolate ("Blonde") and Browned Butter fillings become the dominant global flavor trend, moving from artisan shops to every supermarket.
2026: The "Small Luxury" Shift – Following years of price volatility, the industry officially pivots to "Bite-Sized Premium," where consumers choose smaller, higher-quality, single-origin bars over large mass-market blocks.
Whatever the future holds for chocolate one thing is certain; the chocolate timeline is sure to hold yet more fascinating cocoa facts as the new milenium carries on.
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This blog post was originally written on 1 January 2018 and last updated on 29 January 2026
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