Wilbur Chocolate Company

The Wilbur Chocolate Company was founded in 1865 by Henry Oscar Wilbur and Samuel Croft and was purchased by Cargill in 1992.

In 1865, Henry Oscar Wilbur’s hardware business and Samuel Oscar’s confectionary business united. This business flourished, and bigger premises were needed. In 1884, the chocolate and cocoa production broke away and anew company was created, Wilbur and Sons.

This company was a rival of the Hershey Chocolate Company. Wilbur Chocolate Company noting that their chocolate was recommended by prominent physicians throughout the country as an anti-dispeptic substitute for coffee and tea.

In 1894, H.O Wilbur and Sons developed a technique for depositing a chocolate recipe in a solid shape that resembled a flower bud and the ever popular Wilbur Bud was born.

In 1930, all manufacturing operations were consolidated in Lititz as the Wilbur-Suchard Chocolate

Wilbur Chocolate Company was sold in 1992 to Cargill, one of the largest private companies in the United States, but retained the Wilbur name.
Wilbur Chocolate Company