Whittaker's

James Henry Whittaker (1868–1947) worked in the British confectionery industry from the age of 14 and moved to New Zealand with his wife Leah Alice in 1890. He was a salesman for Cadbury's chocolate before and after his move to New Zealand. In 1896, he started manufacturing chocolate confectionery, selling it directly to customers using a horse and van. In 1913, he established a partnership with his two sons, Ronald and James, based in Wellington. The business became a limited liability company in 1937, with third-generation Whittakers still the sole shareholders in the company. In 1969 the company moved from Wellington to Porirua, because they needed more space and their premises at 167 Vivian Street were under threat from motorway development. The Peanut Slab was invented in the 1950s and Whittaker's began exporting it in 1985. In the 1970s and 80s they also produced Santé Bars, Toffee Milk Bars and K-Bars. The company began producing large blocks of chocolate in the 1990s. In 1992, the company formed J. H. Whittaker New Zealand Ltd.

In June 2014, Whittaker's expanded its market to Malaysia.

In 2014, Whittaker's set up a programme to support and improve cocoa bean production in Samoa, and in 2017 expanded the programme to involve New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2019, Whittaker's admitted that while some bars have ethically-sourced cocoa beans, the sugar is primarily sourced from Thailand. Thailand is known to have child labour in the sugar cane industry. In 2020, Whittaker's announced that its 116 products made with Ghanaian cocoa beans would now be 'Rainforest Alliance Certified'. The company also uses small amounts of beans from Samoa and Nicaragua.

In 2016, Whittaker's launched a hollow chocolate kiwi clutching an egg as an Easter egg product. Twenty cents from each purchase was donated to a charity supporting kiwi conservation. The kiwi eggs were not produced in 2024 or 2025 due to production capacity issues and a global cocoa shortage.

In 2020, Whittaker's produced a limited-release Māori language label for its 'Creamy Milk' chocolate block for social media engagement purposes. In August 2022 the company distributed chocolate with a Māori label nationwide for Māori Language Week. The label had the chocolate variety 'Creamy Milk' written in Māori as 'Miraka Kirīmi'. The initiative was met with both praise and hostility from the public. In 2024 Whittaker's announced that it would no longer produce the Māori label, but would be supporting Māori Language Week in other ways.

Singer Ed Sheeran visited New Zealand in February 2023 and said via Instagram that he liked New Zealand chocolate. Whittaker's responded by sending Sheeran a block of Creamy Milk with Sheeran's face on the label, calling it the 'Ed Block'. Whittaker's then teamed up with Sheeran to auction signed T-shirts and a supply of chocolate to raise funds for victims of the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods.

In March 2024, Whittaker's announced the discontinuation of Toffee Milks.