Godiva vs. Ghirardelli vs. Lindt Overview

 Godiva

History and Origin

Godiva has been around since 1926 when Pierre Draps Sr. began making chocolates with his two sons, who would eventually take over the family business.  In 1968, Godiva became an official chocolatier to the Royal Court of Belgium, which was a high honor for the once-small, family-owned company.

Godiva only grew from there — they now operate over 800 stores across 105 countries (via AP News) and sell everything from chocolate bars to chocolate-dipped strawberries. If you're looking for something special on a budget, Godiva truffles come in affordable boxes that start at $12.95 — the best part is, they don't taste like it.

Godiva is perhaps the most mainstream chocolate on this list, and due to its popularity, it's also the cheapest option. You can find a Godiva bar at any grocery store for about $5, and according to The Penny Hoarder, it's one of the best supermarket chocolates available. 

Godiva Chocolate Review

Where to Buy Godiva Chocolate?

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Ghirardelli

History and Origin

Ghirardelli has been around for over 160 years, making it the oldest continuously operating chocolate maker in America. The company was founded in San Francisco in 1852 by Domenico Ghirardelli. Since its inception, the company has prided itself on embracing innovation and being at the forefront of new techniques and technologies. The shop has experimented with a variety of products, including a line of alcoholic beverages until 1871, and a variety of goods like coffee, spices, and even mustard throughout the years. 

Innovation became tradition throughout the company – in 1867 a Ghirardelli employee discovered a flavor-enhancing technique that would eventually become widely used throughout the chocolate industry. Ghirardelli became one of the first American companies to tap into advertising strategies in order to gain popularity, and one of the first to include cacao content on labels to help discerning consumers select the perfect taste.

The company expanded exponentially throughout the 1900s, and today, Ghirardelli is one of the most prominent chocolate companies in the United States. While the company’s official headquarters were moved to San Leandro, the old San Francisco headquarters is now a popular tourist destination, located in San Francisco’s aptly named Ghirardelli Square. The square is filled with a number of shops and restaurants, and the factory itself is now an official city landmark. The company hosts a variety of events onsite, including an annual Chocolate Festival.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Review

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Lindt

History and Origin

The Lindt  brand has been perfecting chocolate for over 170 years. According to Lindt, behind every Lindt chocolate creation is a passionate and skilled master chocolatier. These chocolatiers come from around the world and help to keep Lindt's products innovative and exciting.

In Lindt, we found a collection of beautiful high-quality chocolates, widely available and in a range of products that will surely please everyone from the truffle lover to the chocolate bar purist. Like Ghirardelli, Lindt offers their pure chocolate bars in a wide range of cocoa percentages from 70 to 100 percent cocoa, as well as pristine milk chocolate and flavored chocolate bars with additions like chili and blackberry with acai.

The chocolates from Lindt taste incredibly high-quality, creamy, and delicious, so it's no secret the brand snagged our No. 1 spot. We love the taste, no doubt, and feel like you can never go wrong with grabbing a bag of Lindt Lindor truffles or a Lindt Excellence Chocolate bar.

Lindt Chocolate Review

Where to Buy Lindt Chocolate?

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Godiva vs. Ghirardelli vs. Lindt Comparison Side by Side

1.Selection

When shopping for chocolate, it’s nice to have a selection from which to choose. So, which brand is going to give you a wider selection to peruse?

• Godiva 

Godiva splits its chocolates into four categories: dark, milk, white and assorted.

Within each of these categories, you can find chocolate squares, truffles, bars, specialty shapes of chocolate (like bunnies for the recent Easter holiday) and various chocolate-covered items, from pretzels to cashews, coffee beans to strawberries. 

Godiva also offers kosher chocolate.Some of the items are available in bulk .

• Ghirardelli 

Ghirardelli organizes its chocolate offerings a bit differently, dividing chocolate purchases into squares, bars, custom mixes and bulk chocolate. 

The squares are the same Ghirardelli squares that most fans know from just about any grocery store — the little, foil-wrapped chocolates that come in a variety of flavors, with different fillings, including sea salt caramel, mint and raspberry. 

The bars are pretty much the exact same offering, only in bar form rather than square form. There are a few more flavor options when it comes to the bars, such as blood orange, hazelnut and toffee. 

• Lindt

Like Ghirardelli, Lindt offers their pure chocolate bars in a wide range of cocoa percentages from 70 to 100 percent cocoa, as well as pristine milk chocolate and flavored chocolate bars with additions like chili and blackberry with acai.

The Lindt Excellence range includes 70%, 78%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 99%, and 100% Cacao bars.

2.Quality

• Godiva 

The Godiva  team includes award-winning pastry chefs and top chocolatiers. Recipes are developed using a mixture of science and tradition; in fact, the brand still uses some of the original Godiva recipes formulated by the company’s founder in the 1920s. Each new recipe is tried and tested for about a year before it makes it to consumers.

• Ghirardelli 

Ghirardelli, however, boasts a somewhat longer history and, where Godiva’s heritage is Belgian, Ghirardelli is Italian, with the brand’s first business venture a storefront in San Francisco. Ghirardelli was shipping chocolate products to Asia and Mexico as early as 1884.

Additionally, Ghirardelli boasts a particularly finicky cocoa bean selection and roasting process. Other factors Ghirardelli says impact its high quality include its grinding, blending and conching process, as well as its chocolate-making technology and long history in chocolate making.

• Lindt

Many chocolate lovers claim that Lindt chocolate taste varies between countries. In their opinion, Lindt in America is of a lower quality than Lindt in Europe. It is due to the fact that this company doesn’t have a big competitor in Europe. In the US, on the other hand, Ghirardelli is perceived as a top-quality brand, so Lindt reduced its quality.

Since 2008, Lindt stoped using beet sugar and chose cane sugar instead. This decision improved the quality of its products. If you are allergic to corn, the fact that Lindt does not contain corn products (for example, corn syrup or cornstarch) should cheer you up. 

3.Taste

Which tastes better? Godiva, Ghirardelli or Lindt?In this instance, it all comes down to personal preference. The two brands use much of the same ingredients. They do have differing flavors, though, which could influence your opinion.

• Godiva 

Each box of chocolates or truffles includes candies enrobed in milk, dark, and white chocolate. 

The chocolate itself is smooth and creamy, without being overwhelmingly sweet or boring. 

Both the classic and creative fillings found in the chocolates and truffles really take these treat boxes to the next level. 

Where most of the fillings in the Russell Stover chocolates taste fake, these flavors taste authentic, rich, and artisanal. 

• Ghirardelli 
  

Ghirardelli does not add artificial flavorings for the most part. There is a solid snap when breaking the bar in half, as well as a clean and smooth chocolate texture.

The bar isn't so soft that it melts in your hands and has no uncomfortable waxy mouthfeel when melting. We also appreciate that the same quality of chocolate is used for the baking and professional products Ghirardelli offers.

When venturing out of the chocolate bar territory, we're also fans of Ghirardelli hot chocolate and brownie mixes that are widely available in stores and online.

• Lindt

The chocolates from Lindt taste incredibly high-quality, creamy, and delicious, so it's no secret the brand snagged our No. 1 spot.

Lindt's Lindor truffles are the company's most well-known product. These truffles are the definition of smooth and offer the perfect amount of chocolate filling in every bite. 

The flavor possibilities feel endless, but some of our favorites are the original milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and sea salt milk chocolate.

4.Specialty Items

• Godiva 

On the Godiva website, you can find gift boxes of truffles that include all types of above-and-beyond gifts, including jewelry cases, serving platters and decorative throws . The gift selection is immense and includes corporate gifts, too.

Beyond chocolate, Godiva offers a range of chocolate-related and flavored specialty items, including cookies and coffee. What’s sorely missing from the Godiva specialty items section is any baking products.

• Ghirardelli 

Ghirardelli is definitely the go-to brand for home bakers when it comes to chocolate products, including chocolate chips, baking mixes, melting and coating wafers, ground cocoa and more. Non-baking specialty items are limited, though.

Ghirardelli does offer a wide array of affordable gift options, though, including gift baskets, boxes, custom arrangements, seasonal items and gift items. However, the sense of luxury just isn’t there when you compare the brand’s gifts to Godiva’s.

• Lindt

Lindt's Lindor truffles are the company's most well-known product. These truffles are the definition of smooth and offer the perfect amount of chocolate filling in every bite.

Like Ghirardelli, Lindt offers their pure chocolate bars in a wide range of cocoa percentages from 70 to 100 percent cocoa, as well as pristine milk chocolate and flavored chocolate bars with additions like chili and blackberry with acai.

5.Price & Cost

• Godiva 

If you went to a general online retailer such as Amazon, you could get a pack of five Godiva, milk chocolate salted caramel bars (3.1 ounces each) for $19, shipped from Godiva.

• Ghirardelli 

If you wanted to buy a similar, flavored Ghirardelli chocolate bar, you could find a pack of six toffee dark chocolate bars (3.4 ounces each) for $33, shipped from Ghiradelli.

• Lindt

The prices of the chocolates are pretty much the same. Lindt 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Bar costs $3.24 in Walmart, which is exactly the same price as Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate Bar.

In terms of chocolate bars, then,  Lindt has  Godiva and Ghirardelli beat when it comes to cost, but only by a little.This changes, though, when you get into higher-end items and gifts.

Godiva vs. Ghirardelli vs. Lindt: Which is Best?

Godiva, Ghirardelli and Lindt,Which One Wins the Chocolate Brand? It’s all about what you’re looking for:

• An upscale or impressive gift? Go to Godiva. Baking? You’ll want Ghirardelli.Snacking chocolate? Also Ghirardelli.

• A sweet treat that’s going to be a bit of luxury? Go with some Godiva truffles. Want a chocolate-covered item versus chocolate? Also, go with Godiva. 

• Lindt has a similar range of flavors as Ghirardelli. Furthermore, Ghirardelli packs its chocolates in similar packaging in almost the same sizes as Lindt does. The only difference here is that Ghirardelli bags consist of chocolate squares, while Lindt produces truffles; therefore, ball-shaped treats.

Read More:

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Top 12 Chocolate Advent Calendars 2024 to Order Now (Godiva, Sugarfina, Lindt, Cadbury etc.)

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