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Charles-Amédée Kohler

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Charles-Amédée Kohler
Born15 June 1790
Lausanne, Switzerland
Died15 September 1874(1874-09-15) (aged 84)
Lausanne, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
OccupationChocolatier
Known forCreator of hazelnut chocolate

Charles-Amédée Kohler (born Charles-Gottlieb Kohler; 15 June 1790 – 15 September 1874) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Chocolat Kohler. He notably invented hazelnut chocolate,[1] in his factory opened in 1830[a] in Lausanne.[3][4] After his death the Kohler company continued in the Swiss chocolate industry. It merged in 1904 with the Peter and in 1911 with the Cailler chocolate brands; before being finally purchased by Nestlé in 1929.[4]

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 and wine from Büren an der Aare, and Anne Ernst.[2] 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 firm Amédée Kohler et Fils (Amédée Kohler & Sons).[2]

In 1830, he bought a mill in downtown Lausanne and established a chocolate factory,[5][4] where he eventually created the recipe for chocolate mixed with hazelnut. After his father's death in 1833, Kohler became fully dedicated to the chocolate making business, and Frédéric left the firm the following year.[2] 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.[5]

View of Le Flon Valley and Sauvabelin in 1860, with Kohler's second chocolate factory in the background, by Daniel David Burgdorfer

In 1865, Kohler retired from the company and passed the administration to his sons Charles-Amédée and Adolphe.[5] He died in Lausanne on 15 September 1874.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ 1831 according to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland[2]

References

  1. ^ Thomas Stephens (13 December 2017). "The pioneers of Switzerland's 'Chocolate Revolution'". Swissinfo. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Louis Polla: Charles-Amédée Kohler in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 9 June 2006.
  3. ^ "History". Chocosuisse. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "About Cailler". Cailler. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "chocolaterie Kohler". Les musées de Lausanne et de sa région (in French). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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