Haigh’s was founded (officially) in 1915 in Adelaide and was one of the pioneering candy makers during the second world war — in spite of sugar rationing. It’s got a long history in the business and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Melbournite unaware of its existence.

At Haigh’s we’re very proud to be the oldest family-owned chocolate maker in Australia. Today the company is run by fourth generation Haigh’s. 

Haigh’s Chocolates

Their range is disappointing.

According to their website, Haigh’s crafts “new recipes” and “fine-tune old favourites” each year. I’m not convinced those “new recipes” mean any kind of “innovation”.

Maybe it’s the plain packaging, but trying to find something new or inspired from Haigh’s’ line-up of chocolates is harder than it looks. Most of the chocolate packages seen in the image above are actually repeats of one another. No shelf is unique: all carry the same kinds of chocolates, throughout the store. It’s almost as though the store is trying to fool you into thinking there is more variety than what meets the eye.

Don’t get me wrong: Haigh’s has a special place in my family’s heart. It is long considered our favourite chocolate (and is one of the few chocolate makers I see still making chocolate-coated cashews). But I’ve never found anything new when I walk in. Sure, there are new shapes — my last visit to Haigh’s earned us a free large fish-shaped chocolate, of all things…) — but never any desirable new combinations of flavours. They seem to rely on the classic taste, on the old-fashioned style of chocolatiers.

My tour of Melbourne lasted approximately four hours. I spent the least amount of time in Haigh’s. My brother and I purchased 10 dark peppermint frogs and a small bag of milk roasted cashews.