When you think of large chocolate factories where do you think of? No, I'm not talking about the famous Willy Wonka movie, but truly one of the world's largest chocolate makers which just so happens to reside in Missouri.

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I found this factoid buried in the middle of an interesting article by MSN that stated that the world's largest chocolate maker when it comes to boxed chocolates is...(*drum roll*)...Russell Stover headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Yes, it is true that Russell Stover officially became a chocolate making place in 1932, but it actually began 9 years earlier according to their official website when the family starting making candies in their home. It was in 1932 when all operations were moved to Kansas City. Now, it's a mammoth chocolate and candy making operation and there's no one larger when it comes to chocolate you get in a box.

When I was a kid, boxed chocolate was my regular go-to present for my parents since my $5 a week allowance could manage to afford that "investment". Pretty sure it was almost always Russell Stover although I didn't realize it at the time that I was supporting a local Missouri company. Even as a kid I was shopping local.

I could probably blame this chocolate fascination on Willy Wonka since that was also my go-to movie as a kid. Little did I know there was kind of a Missouri version in our own backyard...the world's largest.

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