
The world’s first widely distributed “artisanal” chocolate bar, processed bean-to-bar with a preference for darker chocolate, launched in 1997, capitalizing on shifting tastes that demanded finer products made in smaller batches. Its success—Scharffen Berger was acquired by Hershey in 2005—“set the stage for the artisanal chocolate bar movement,” says Chocolate: The Sweet History author Beth Kimmerle, which spawned Mast Brothers’ black truffle bars, Vosges’ bacon chocolate bars and more.