A. Driessen Cocoa and Chocolate Factory Rotterdam

A. Driessen is a Dutch brand name for chocolate. The factory of A. Driessen was located in Rotterdam since 1820.

The history of the Driessen's begins around 1820 when A. Driessen has a chocolate shop - workshop and upstairs apartment in the Molensteeg in Rotterdam. Because the factory was founded by A. Driessen, all later owners keep the same name for the factory.

The raw material cocoa came from the then colony Suriname. In 1854 the Driessen Cocoa and Chocolate Factory was put into operation in the Rotterdam district of Rubroek. Later the company was moved to the Rechter Rottekade there.

In 1871, the company was awarded the title of purveyor to the royal household. In 1893, the factory was expanded and by the end of the century, Driessen was one of the most important chocolate companies in the Netherlands. After the outbreak of a crisis on the cocoa market in 1907, raw material prices rose sharply. However, it was the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression that put an end to the factory. In 1935, Driessen was taken over by the Breda chocolate factory Kwatta. The company was closed down and production was transferred to the production facility in Princenhage, which opened in 1921. After more than a century, the once famous company came to an end.

In 1965, chocolate production at Kwatta came to an end. Kwatta International became a holding company of Van Dungen and Frank Rademaker, among others. In 1972, Kwatta came into the hands of the Belgian company Continental Foods. Since 2001, it has been part of the American concern Heinz.