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Darrell Lea Chocolate Shops is an Australian company that make and sell chocolate.

It is privately owned by the Lea family, and is perhaps the largest privately owned confectionery manufacturer in Australia. It was established as a company in 1928.

Darrell Lea has 75 privately owned outlets and 475 outlets are owned by independent contractors. At peak times employs at least 1000 people

Contents 1 History 2 Products 3 Community Involvement 4 References and External links

It is owned by the Lea family, who began with Harry Lea. Lea started the first shop in New South Wales in 1927 in Sydney's Haymarket. During the Depression, a shop became vacant in Pitt Street, and a factory was built under the arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. His first chocolate creation was called Bulgarian Rock.

Monty and Harris Lea, two sons of Harry, opened a manufacturing operation in Melbourne, with their first shop in Swanston Street, in 1940.

Jason Lea (28 September 1942 - 12 September 2005),[1] Monty's son, opened the first shop in Hobart in 1956 (^{[citation needed]} -- this statement is almost certainly wrong; see discussion page), and Maurice Lea opened five shops in Brisbane in 1966 and delivered fresh stock until he retired in 1996. Robert Lea, Harry's Grandson, opened a shop in Adelaide in 1966.

In 1982 the Kogarah factory was rebuilt due to a fire two years before, and set up with modern chocolate-making machinery.

Their range comprises 500 products, with 60 extra items created for Easter and Christmas.

In recent years Darrell Lea has had many demands for their licorice from overseas, in particular the U.S. and Canada. They offer an ordering service to this end.

Recently Darrell Lea's line of soft licorices have started to be sold in Canadian shops as well as Trader Joes grocery stores in the United States.

Darrell Lea has sponsored a local high school so that they may conclude and continue their studies, and a local facility which works with people with intellectual disability. They help organisations like Starlight Foundation and the Red Cross, as well as local youth groups.

• Darrell Lea Chocolate Website
• The Lea Family : ABC Dynasty Documentary Warning: This documentary is very poorly researched, is very highly biased against Jason Lea who was just weeks away from his death on 12 September 2005 (and, as well, highly medicated) when he was ambushed by the film crew. Also, the crew only interviewed part of his family.
• Sunshine Home, includes information on how Darrell Lea helped this group for those with an intellectual disability