The Jacobs family is the controlling family of the largest manufacturer of both chocolate and cocoa products, Barry Callebaut AG, said to be the biggest chocolate factory in the world. It was created in 1996 by Klaus Johann Jacobs, whose family’s coffee business was Johan Jacobs & Co.
Klaus Johann took over his family’s German coffee business in 1970. He expanded the company’s interests and merged with the Swiss chocolate company, Interfood, in 1982 to form Jacobs Suchard.
Throughout the 1980s, Klaus Johann also acquired other candy and food producers. Under his leadership, Jacobs Suchard grew to become Europe’s biggest chocolate and coffee dealer.
After selling the company to Philip Morris in 1990, Klaus Johann created Barry Callebaut in 1996 by merging his Belgian chocolate maker, Callebaut, with his French chocolate rival, Cacao Barry.
In 2002, Klaus Johann transferred his personal assets to the Jacobs Foundation, a family-run charity that helps youths. He passed away in 2008 at age 71.
Klaus Johann’s sons, Christian and Andreas, succeeded their father in the company, running it and the Jacobs Foundation for a decade. In 2015, the foundation’s chair was handed over to their sister, Lavinia. Their younger brothers, Nicolas and Philippe, assumed the roles of co-chairs of Jacobs Holding AG.
