Haigh’s Chocolates, Australia’s oldest family-owned chocolate maker, will open its first Queensland store at Westfield Mt Gravatt in August 2026, marking the Adelaide brand’s long-awaited retail debut in Brisbane after more than a century in business.
Two further stores at Chermside and Carindale will follow later in the year, bringing Haigh’s total national footprint to 26 stores across Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. The three-store rollout represents the brand’s most significant expansion since it entered the Sydney market, and for Brisbane chocolate lovers who have spent years relying on online orders or interstate trips to get their hands on Haigh’s product, the arrival of a local store feels genuinely overdue.
A Brand Built on Over a Century of Craft
Haigh’s Chocolates was founded on 1 May 1915 by Alfred E. Haigh in Adelaide, South Australia, making it Australia’s oldest family-owned chocolate maker. What began as a small confectionery shop at the Beehive Corner on King William Street has grown across four generations of family ownership into one of Australia’s most recognisable premium food brands, with a loyal following that stretches well beyond its South Australian home.
Haigh’s has maintained its primary manufacturing operations in Adelaide since its founding, where it produces its range of chocolates using a bean-to-bar approach, roasting its own cocoa beans to create its milk and dark chocolate blends from ethically sourced ingredients. That commitment to in-house production from bean to finished product distinguishes Haigh’s from most other chocolate retailers operating in Australia, where the majority of premium brands import finished chocolate rather than manufacturing it locally.
In September 2025, Haigh’s opened a new $120 million state-of-the-art facility in Salisbury South, spanning 18,000 square metres and incorporating advanced European-made equipment for production, warehousing and online fulfilment. The new facility increases Haigh’s production capacity from 1,100 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes of chocolate per year, providing the manufacturing headroom needed to support both the Brisbane expansion and the company’s broader national growth strategy.
Haigh’s Chocolates – Bean to Bar Process:
- Haigh’s Chocolates, established in 1915, is Australia’s oldest family-owned chocolate maker focused on premium, small-batch chocolate production.
- The process begins with sourcing high-quality, ethically produced cocoa beans from regions like Ghana and Peru, with most coming from Rainforest Alliance certified farms.
- The beans are cleaned using sieves, magnets, and airflow systems, then roasted at about 120°C for 30–90 minutes to enhance flavour and remove moisture.
- Roasted beans are crushed and winnowed to remove the outer shell, leaving cocoa nibs, which are ground into a bitter liquid cocoa liquor.
- The cocoa liquor is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, and sometimes milk powder, then refined through rollers to create a smooth texture.
- The chocolate undergoes conching, where it is heated, aerated, and mixed for several hours to develop its flavour and silky consistency.
- Tempering follows, where the chocolate is carefully cooled and reheated to achieve a glossy finish and stable structure.
- The tempered chocolate is moulded into shapes or hand-dipped to create products like truffles and other specialty chocolates.
- Small-batch production methods are used to maintain freshness and ensure high-quality output across a wide range of products.
- Finally, chocolates are hand-finished, carefully packaged, and continuously improved through new product development released during special occasions.
Why Brisbane, Why Now
The Brisbane move is driven by clear commercial evidence. Queensland customers currently represent 18 per cent of Haigh’s total online sales, making the state a significant and demonstrable market despite having no physical retail presence to date. For a brand that sells exclusively through its own stores and website, that level of online demand from a market with no bricks-and-mortar outlet signals a substantial untapped opportunity.
Chief Executive Peter Millard confirmed that the combination of strong Queensland online demand and the newly expanded production capacity at Salisbury South made 2026 the right moment to enter the Brisbane market. The three-store strategy reflects confidence in the city’s appetite for premium chocolate, with Westfield Mt Gravatt anchoring the initial launch before Chermside and Carindale extend the brand’s reach across the northern and eastern suburbs later in the year.
Westfield Mt Gravatt draws shoppers from across a wide catchment spanning the southern and south-eastern suburbs, and the arrival of a Haigh’s store adds a genuinely distinctive retail experience to a centre that already serves as a significant southside anchor.
Haigh’s Chocolates will open at Westfield Mt Gravatt in August 2026, with Chermside and Carindale to follow later in the year. Further information about Haigh’s products and the Brisbane openings is available at haighschocolates.com.au.
Published 27-March-2026.
