| Birth Date: | 9 March 1836 |
| Birth Place: | Moudon, Switzerland |
| Death Place: | Vevey, Switzerland |
| Nationality: | Swiss |
| Occupation: | Chocolatier |
| Known For: | Creator of milk chocolate and founder of Peter's Chocolate |
| Relatives: | François-Louis Cailler (father-in-law) |
Daniel Peter (9 March 1836 – 4 November 1919) was a Swiss chocolatier and entrepreneur who founded Peter's Chocolate. A neighbour of Henri Nestlé in Vevey,[1] he was one of the first chocolatiers to make milk chocolate and is credited for inventing it,[1] [2] [3] in 1875 or 1876, by adding powdered milk to the chocolate.[4] [5]
Peter was born on 9 March 1836 in Moudon, in the canton of Vaud, to Jean Samuel Peter, a butcher, and Jeanne-Louise Laurent,[6] in a family of Alsatian origin.[7] He began his commercial apprenticeship in Vevey, where in 1856 he established the candle-making business Frères Peter, but soon he diversified his business to include chocolate fabrication,[6] as demand for his candles fell, owing to the introduction of affordable kerosene lamps. He married in 1863 to Fanny-Louise Cailler, a daughter of François-Louis Cailler, also a chocolatier.[6]
When Peter came up with the process of making milk chocolate in 1857, he had a problem with removing the water from the milk, which caused mildew to form. It was not until he enlisted the cooperation of Henri Nestlé, then a baby-food manufacturer who had invented a milk-condensation process, that finally, in 1875, after seven years of effort, he was able to bring the product onto the market. However, it is only after many years of fine-tuning that the original formula was developed and, in 1887, the Gala Peter brand was finally launched. Daniel Peter called his product 'Gala' after the Greek word meaning 'milk'.[8] From these developments, Switzerland soon dominated the chocolate market. Earlier, in 1896, Daniel Peter wrote:
Daniel Peter also launched the Delta Peter brand, which consisted of milk and cocoa powder that could be added to water to make a chocolate drink. Peter used a triangular packaging, with each individual triangle of pressed powder to be used for one cup.[9]
Earlier, in 1879, Daniel Peter and Henri Nestlé formed a partnership that organised the Nestlé Company, eventually one of the largest of Europe-based confection industries, into existence. In 1904, he eventually merged with the Kohler company. All Peter, Cailler and Kohler brands were bought by Nestlé in 1929.
Daniel Peter died on 4 November 1919 in Vevey.[10]