Daniel Peter

Daniel Peter (* 1836 in Moudon, † 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur. He is considered the inventor of milk chocolate, but which was already developed in 1839 by Jordan & Timaeus in Dresden.

Life

The son of a butcher in 1852 completed an apprenticeship in the food trade, and later in an artisanal candle factory in Vevey. Bought along with his brother and a few years later he ran this factory, but had by the increasing displacement of the candles by kerosene lamps little commercial success. In 1863 he married Fanny Cailler -Louise, the eldest daughter of François-Louis Cailler chocolate entrepreneur and so came to chocolate.

In 1867 he founded Peter- Cailler et Compagnie. The business went bad, and with the help of his friend Henri Nestlé and its milk powder, he tried to create a new product: the combination of milk and chocolate. After years of research he gave in 1873 on the idea with the milk powder and tried it with condensed milk. 1875 Finally, he had developed an existing cocoa, sugar and condensed milk chocolate, which to a large success was the audience: This still applies in many publications as the invention date of the milk chocolate, the first milk chocolate was detectable made ​​in 1839 in Dresden. 1887 a refined milk chocolate was launched under the brand name Gala Peter.

1901 Peter built the still existing factory in Orbe. 1904 merged Peter- Cailler et Compagnie with Kohler, 1911, did the two together with Cailler in order to survive in the international markets. The combination of Kohler's Hazelnut with Peter's milk chocolate sold distinguished themselves in the armies of the warring parties involved in the First World War, the remaining export markets collapsed but together.

Daniel Peter and Fanny Cailler together had five children: Louise, Francois, Rose, Jeanne and Elisa.