Who invented milk chocolate?
Switzerland or Germany – who is credited with inventing milk chocolate?
Text:
Alexander Kuhlmann
Photography:
© EcoFinia GmbH
22 July 2026
When you think of the invention of milk chocolate, your mind almost automatically turns to Switzerland. To Daniel Peter. To the Alps. To the beginning of a success story that continues to delight billions of people to this day. But sometimes it’s worth taking a look back at old newspapers. Because there you’ll find a small advert that could surprisingly change our understanding of the history of chocolate.
A newspaper advert with a big impact
On 22 May 1839, an unassuming advertisement for the Jordan & Timaeus chocolate factory appeared in the ‘Dresdner Anzeiger’ newspaper. It offered a
‘chocolate made with donkey’s milk, without spices’.
What at first sounds like a historical curiosity continues to fascinate historians and chocolate researchers to this day. This is because the advert is the oldest known evidence to date of a solid chocolate containing milk – decades before the famous Swiss milk chocolate began its triumphant march.
So why does everyone still mention Switzerland?
The answer is actually quite simple. Dresden chocolate was far ahead of its time, but the technology was not yet fully developed.
Back then, milk was still processed in its liquid form. This meant the chocolate had a limited shelf life. Furthermore, the cocoa was ground much more coarsely than it is today. The result was a dark, strong and rather grainy chocolate that bore little resemblance to the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth milk chocolate we enjoy today.
It was not until 1875 that Daniel Peter, in Switzerland, succeeded in producing a long-lasting milk chocolate using condensed milk, which could be manufactured on an industrial scale and went on to enjoy worldwide success. That is why both statements are correct: Dresden produced the first known milk chocolate. Switzerland made it world-famous.
Dresden produced the first known milk chocolate. Switzerland made it world-famous.
Chocolate continues to write its story
For almost 200 years, chocolate has been constantly evolving. New varieties of cocoa, gentler processing methods, surprising ingredients and alternative sweetening concepts all show that the world of chocolate never stands still.
Here at VIVANI, we love this very idea. The most wonderful moments of indulgence arise where high-quality ingredients meet an openness to new ideas. Where tradition becomes inspiration. And where every bar tells its own little story.
Perhaps that is precisely the real message behind the Dresden milk chocolate:
Great ideas sometimes start out quite unassuming. And yet they can still change the world.
