PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Hollander Chocolate Company is one of southeastern Wisconsin's most well-known businesses, and its products have likely made their way into coffee drinks enjoyed across the country and around the world.
WATCH: Brendan Johnson speaks with the co-founder and president of Hollander Chocolate Company
Doug, co-founder and president of Hollander Chocolate Company, said the business grew out of his background in chemistry, food science, and commodity trading.
"I have a chemistry degree, food science, and then a business degree. Worked in the commodity trading business, worked in the cocoa and chocolate business around the world, and about 10 years ago sat down with our team and said we can start a chocolate company. We can make it specific for the coffee industry, and we can sell it worldwide, and that's what we do."
The company now sells its chocolates, caramels, and white chocolates across the United States. Hollander also has warehouses in London and Tokyo, a field office in Seoul, South Korea, and sells in more than 10 countries worldwide.
"If you're a coffee shop and you're looking for the best chocolate, your chances are you're going to find Hollander chocolate there," Doug said.
Despite its global reach, Hollander's headquarters remain in Washington, Wisconsin. About a year ago, the company opened Tulip Cafe, a consumer-facing space where people can experience Hollander products firsthand.
"For the longest time we were, you could only see us if you went to your favorite coffee shop, so about a year ago we said let's create a place where people can come in and actually see Hollander, you know, firsthand. So that's what we created here at the Tulip Cafe, and you can get the drinks served right here," Doug said.
The cafe also serves as a research and development lab for new drink creations. Yosh, Hollander's master barista, develops and tests new recipes at the location — including a pumpkin curry latte made with the company's pumpkin sauce — before sharing them with coffee shops around the world.
"We have our R&D lab for our drinks and then this is the R&D lab for actually the finished products. We see if it works. We see if it's successful, and then we can share that around the world with our other coffee shops," Doug said.
Tulip Cafe opens at 7 a.m.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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