J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd (Whittaker's) is a confectionery manufacturer specialising in palm oil-free chocolate and based in Porirua, New Zealand. Whittaker's is the largest chocolate brand in New Zealand. Approximately 30% of their production is now exported. The company controls its entire manufacturing process in its facility in Porirua, identifying itself as a "bean-to-bar" manufacturer. James Henry Whittaker (1868–1947) started the business in Christchurch in 1896 and it was later moved to Wellington. History 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 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. The company has provided commercial sponsorship for motor sports in New Zealand as well as for the All Blacks. The company's marketing phrases include "A passion for chocolate since 1896" and "Good honest chocolate" and also "from bean to bar". In 2011 it was listed as New Zealand's third most trusted brand by Bradley Colman survey. From 2012 to 2022 Whittaker's was voted New Zealand's most trusted brand, benefitting from Cadbury's 2009 bad publicity surrounding palm oil and changes in product size, and further fallout from Cadbury's closure of its Dunedin factory in 2017. In May 2014, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson filmed an advert for Whittaker's in the 1930s Wellington railway station. Later, in 2022, Karl Urban appeared in an advert as a fictionalised time-travelling James Whittaker, right outside the same location. In June 2014, Whittaker's expanded its market to Malaysia. In 2014 Whittaker's set up a programme to support and improve