How Sweet It Was

Maybe, it's because we currently live in a former textile factory or that we always seek out older, especially re-purposed buildings. Either way, our recent trip to PA combined both of these interests.

Day and night views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

That's because our accommodations were in a former chocolate factory, After the Wilbur Chocolate Company closed is was redeveloped and this hotel opened in 2016.. What's not to like about that? The ever-so-faint scent of chocolate could still be detected or maybe that was our imagination.

This wasn't our first PA visit, but our first stay in Lititiz was a family visit. Youngest granddaughter and family live in nearby Lancaster, PA. Her December birthday was celebrated belatedly with an indoor pool party at a nearby recreation center.

Lobby views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

Hotel lounge views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

Of course, it doesn't look anything like the former factory, but still preserves some of the original construction with the large wooden beams. Look closely at the bottom right photo for a larger reveal in the next photo.

The Wilburettes were company employees who performed at holiday parties

If you look in the center of the above bottom right photo, you can barely see this photo of "The Wilburettes" the Wilbur Chocolate Company employee version of the NYC Rockettes  In the 1940’s, the company held employee Christmas parties, quite often the party ended with some dance numbers by these ladies. 

Former Wilbur Chocolate Company on Broad St, Lititz, PA (Internet source)

Current view of Wilbur Chocolate Company (January 2025)

The Wilbur Chocolate Company was a mainstay on N. Broad St in Lititz, PA, for over 120 years. In January 2016, its celebrated 125-year old chocolate-making tradition in Lititz ended when chocolate production ended at the historic landmark. It's now The Wilbur Hotel, a 74-room boutique hotel, part of Hilton hotels. 

This photo, circa 1927, shows employees posed for a group shot outside the PA chocolate company. Apparently, everyone dressed up for this photo shoot.

How it All Began 

Back to the origins of the chocolate factory, which incidentally has a NJ connection (doesn't everything?) As natives of the state, it's interesting, sometimes not so much, to see how often our home state is involved mentioned in seeming everything.

Henry Wilbur

Way back in 1865, Henry Oscar Wilbur had a successful hardware business in Vineland, NJ. But, after meeting Samuel Croft, a candy maker, he switched businesses. The two men formed a partnership to produce hard and molasses candies for almost 20 years at a Philadelphia, PA, location. At that time, confectionery manufacturing equipment consisted of a kettle, a coal or coke fire, buckets and a marble slab. These hard candies were marketed to railroad companies to be sold onboard trains.

The partnership split up in 1884, Croft stayed in the hard candy business with a new partner. Wilbur went into the chocolate candy business forming H. O. Wilbur & Sons, with sons, Harry and William; oldest son, Bertram, later became a partner after Harry's death.

A 1911 newspaper ad featuring Wilbur Buds

The Wilbur Bud

What became the company's signature chocolate, the Wilbur Bud, debuted in 1894, and the exact date of a trademark is uncertain. But, the original machine used to make the candy was invented and patented by John Smith in 1889. The chocolate may look like another piece of well-known chocolate candy, but it was created first, 13 years earlier. More about that other candy later.

The machinery that made the Wilbur Bud chocolates

The chocolate's  creation was just good business. created by the company founder, Henry Wilbur. His mantra was that exceptional chocolate shouldn't be complicated, but he wanted it to be unique to sell more chocolate. Wilbur developed a process to deposit chocolate into a solid shape that looked like a flower bud. His creation was the Wilbur Bud, which is molded with a distinctive design and a flower shaped bottom. Each petal has a letter of the company name, WILBUR. Years ago, candies were wrapped, today the candies are unwrapped and sold in various packaging. 

Check out the price in this undated newspaper ad for Wilbur Buds

By 1905, the third generation of Wilbur family employees included Lawrence H. Wilbur, a European-trained chocolatier who invented a machine to foil wrap Wilbur Buds which were then packaged in boxes. Transport from factory to store shelves was slower years ago and protecting chocolate’s freshness was a concern. An exact date when this practice ended isn't known. It's speculated that the change occurred after the mid-20th century. By then, packaging technology had improved. The need for extra care lessened as new methods were adopted.

Ideal Chocolate Factory in Lititz, PA, was next to a Reading RR line

Although Wilbur Chocolate was still in Philadelphia, PA, another chocolate company was in Lititz, PA, Kendig Chocolate Company had started in 1900 and in 1902 was sold to The Ideal Chocolate Company which built a new plant at 48 North Broad St. adjacent to the Reading and Columbia rail station which made easy access to ingredients by rail. The company sold almond bars, chocolate cigars, and cocoa powder. In 1913, increased demand led to a five-story plant addition. In a 1927, Ideal merger with the Brewster Chocolate Company of Newark, NJ (another NJ connect) the company became the Brewster-Ideal Chocolate Company.

Red Book Magazine advertisement  for Wilbur Buds (year unknown)

Wilbur Chocolate Relocates, Eventually

Meanwhile,  H. O. Wilbur & Sons began business talks with a Swiss company, Chocolat Suchard, to secure rights to sell its chocolate. By 1928, the rights were purchased and the company name was Wilbur-Suchard Chocolate Company. 

Now comes the move to Lititz after various mergers and acquisitions in the late 1920s, Wilbur-Suchard Chocolate took over the Newark, NJ, Brewster-Ideal Chocolate factory and began operating three factories simultaneously (in Lititz, Philadelphia and Newark). Over time, the company shut down the Philadelphia and Newark factories and consolidated operations in the Lititz factory due to its location next to the railroad freight station. By year-end 1958, the company was solely the Wilbur Chocolate Company and remained at the Broad St location in Lititz, PA, for nearly 60 years..

Besides the ever-popular Wilbur Bud, the company produced a variety of chocolate products and cocoa. In the early 1970s, a factory store was only open to employees for candy buys. Lititz is a small town, son word got out. Non-employees, mostly town residents, requested the store be opened to the public. And, it did in 1972 and, you know what, visitors came — to no one's surprise chocolate sales increased. 

These items were in the former Candy Americana Museum

Its value as a tourist destination increased even more after Penny Buzzard, wife of a former company president, spearheaded a move to add a Candy Americana Museum within the store Later, a candy-making kitchen was added so that tourists visitors could watch chocolatiers hand-make small batches of customer favorites. 

Chocolate Meltdown or Mergers and Aquisitions

In 1968, Wilbur Chocolate became a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Company and was sold four more times in 12 years. In 1992, it became part of the Minnesota-based Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate family. In 2016, the aging Broad St facility was shut down. and the bulk of chocolate production that had been done in Lititz was shifted to Cargill’s other PA-based facilities. Today, Wilbur Chocolate is one of four premium chocolate brands produced and sold by Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, others are Peter’s Chocolate, Veliche Belgian Chocolate, and Gerkens Cocoa Powder. 

The Wilbur Chocolate Store is located across the street from the former factory

The factory closed and so did the candy museum, but within a couple of years, the Wilbur Chocolate Store opened across the street from the former factory. Cargill, Inc. spent an estimated $250K dollars on the renovation of a former family-owned hardware store. Pieces from the museum are now in the store. A candy kitchen is also featured in the new space. 

Wilbur Buds are sold in two varieties: semi-sweet (dark) and milk chocolate

There's free samples of Wilbur Buds which have remained the most popular of all Wilbur chocolates. (Yes, we had some.) They're still produced according to Wilbur’s original recipe and still only in semisweet and milk chocolate. When the factory closed, the museum did too, so the store now includes a display of Wilbur artifacts that provide an insight into the company's history including the original Wilbur Bud machine.

Street view of the redeveloped Wilbur Chocolate Factory, Lititz. PA

The closed factory has been redeveloped not only to include The Wilbur Hotel, but also condos, a restaurant, hotel, luxury apartments, senior living and specialty market shops. 

A Kiss is Still a Kiss 

But, not as in the As Time Goes By song in the 1942 film, Casablanca. In the early 19th century, the term kiss was a generic term commonly used to describe a variety of bite-size confectionery products like chocolate, cinnamon and molasses candies. Irish poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," but is it true for business as well? 

In 1907, Milton Hershey copied the Wilbur Bud, packaged it as the Hershey Kiss, a bite-sized piece of milk chocolate, and trademarked the name. Each candy was hand-wrapped until 1921 when new equipment automated foil wrapping. It also allowed adding the “Hershey plume” a paper strip that extends from the top of every chocolate. In early 1922, the Hershey Company took out full page ads reading: Insist upon having the “GENUINE” Sweet Milk Chocolate Hershey’s KISSES. Be Sure They Contain the Identification Tag ‘HERSHEY’S. In 1923,  Hershey trademarked the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses name. The plume was trademarked in 1924, which prevents any other conical foil-wrapped chocolate to use the same packaging.

Compared to the Wilbur Bud, a Hershey Kiss is a cone with a flat, plain bottom. But as its design was less fancy, the candy could be made mass-produced by dropping it on a flat belt instead of using a special mold like the Wilbur Bud which was hand created. Also, unlike the Hershey Kiss, the Wilbur Bud was sold in milk and dark chocolate and this remains the same, unlike its competitor which is now available in various flavors. In 1909, Henry Wilbur failed in an attempt to sue the copy cat candy company. However, I was unable to find out exactly why he was not successful.

The two products were often compared due to their proximity. Lititz is about 20 miles from Hershey Company headquarters in Hershey, PA. Wilbur remained a regional brand for years, today it can be purchased online and at select retail locations, unlike Hershey which became a global brand. 

This has nothing to do with chocolate, but Milton Hershey was a confirmed passenger on the Titanic's ill-fated 1912 voyage. After vacationing in France in the winter of 191, Hershey had booked passage on the Titanic, but work-related matters may have caused him to cancel the sailing. Instead, he rebooked passage on the SS Amerika (later USS America) and left 4 days before Titanic sailed. 

The Wilbur Hotel gives guests a sample chocolate package

As chocoholics who have savored various types of chocolates, our preference is for the Wilbur Bud.

This was the view from our living room window early this morning. An overnight snowfall has nearly filled in the Nashua River. (I never tire of this scene.)