our Heritage

There are few premium confectionery
companies that can point to a heritage
as long and as rich as ours

Our story began in 1930, when Mr Oscar Benson and Colonel ‘Bertie’ Dickson acquired a small confectionery business at the unassuming address of 184 Church Street, in Kensington, London.

This was where, in 1931, Lucia Benson, our founder’s sister-in-law created a remarkable new mint chocolate recipe.

Our quest for chocolate perfection led to the development of a mint fondant that was almost too strong, which was thickly covered in a 95% cocoa solids chocolate that was almost too dark.

Together they became almost too delicious. We named it the Bittermint, now our most famous mint, and a phenomenon from the start.

By 1933, Bendicks was developing an enviable reputation for quality and a new store was opened in the heart of London’s exclusive Mayfair. The rich, the beautiful and the fashionable flocked to our doors.

Our unrivalled reputation for excellence was recognized when we were awarded a Royal Warrant by Her Majesty the Queen in 1962. A prestigious stamp of quality that has adorned every one of our beautifully distinctive chocolate boxes ever since.

Today we still pay the same attention to detail at our factory as we did when our chocolates were made in a tiny basement beneath our shop in Kensington.

This means that we continue to delight the most discerning of customers.