Darrell Lea is making a comeback in the confectionery space with the acquisition of chocolate company Heritage Fine Chocolates.
The confectionery company will establish a chocolate centre in Melbourne with production to commence in early 2019.
It will expand its range of chocolate products and create 50 new jobs for Aussies in Victoria during its first year of operation. Current full time Heritage staff will retain their jobs.
“There are wonderful synergies between Darrell Lea and Heritage which present exciting opportunities for us to expand our footprint into new categories and with more products,” said Tim York, CEO of Darrell Lea. “Until now, we have always been viewed as a Sydney company but with manufacturing expansion into Victoria we can forge stronger relationships with our retailers and consumers.”
The latest move comes after three months since the owners of Darrell Lea acquired local NZ brands from Nestle.
Darrell Lea was established in Sydney in 1927 and currently manufactures chocolates in Ingleburn, Sydney. It went into administration in 2012 leading to closure of its stores nationwide but earlier this year, the company was sold for $200 million to Quadrant Private Equity, which eyes expansion locally and internationally. It assumed its operations at the Wellington Road, Rowville site on October 16.
Heritage Fine Chocolates was established in Melbourne 35 years ago and have manufactured Easter eggs for Darrell Lea in the past.
Aussies have welcomed the comeback of the iconic Australian chocolate on Twitter.
THE famous Darrell Lea confectionery brand is re-emerging and will set up a “chocolate centre of excellence” in Melbourne’s southeast.
YES!! Chocolate is safe! https://t.co/g0cfcqNWeS
— ☘️Maureen says G’Day🙋🏻 (@826Maureen) October 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/SmartEdgeAcct/status/1055228534224912385
