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Ep379: Brief history of Top 5 Chocolate Makers · Kidcast Daily

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  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
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  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder.
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  Open wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
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  cats. Daily starts your day, Fun and
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  laughter come your way. Sports and Trinia games galore.
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  Good day, knowledge adventurers. Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where
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  every episode takes you on a journey through sports, science,
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  history, and all the fascinating corners of our world.
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  Today we are unwrapping a sweet topic, a brief history of the
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  top chocolate makers. So let's get on with today's
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  episode. Before we visit the companies,
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  let's set the scene. Chocolate starts with cocoa
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  beans that grow near the equator in warm, rainy places.
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  Farmers harvest the beans, let them ferment, dry them in the
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  sun and ship them to factories. There, beans are roasted and
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  ground into cocoa solids and cocoa butter, which are mixed
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  with sugar and sometimes milk to make chocolate bars, chips and
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  cocoa powder. That is the basic path from
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  treated treat that fills lunch boxes, grocery shelves and
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  baking aisles. Time to meet the top makers.
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  One of the largest is Mars, a family owned company that began
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  in the United States in the early 1900s.
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  Frank C Mars started by making candies at home and selling them
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  locally. Over time, the company grew and
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  created well known brands found in vending machines, movie
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  theaters and stores. Mars is also known for careful
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  quality control, making sure each batch tastes the same from
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  bag to bag. Many kids recognize it's
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  colorful button shaped candies, caramel and nougat bars, and
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  crunchy peanut treats. Did you know Mars also makes pet
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  food and gum? The company runs many factories
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  around the world to keep up with demand.
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  Here is a quick brain booster. Which country produces the most
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  cocoa beans in the world today? The answer is Cote d'Ivoire,
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  also called Ivory Coast in West Africa.
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  That country, along with Ghana and a few others nearby, grows a
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  big share of the world's cocoa. Another major name is the
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  Hershey Company. Milton S Hershey first found
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  success with caramel, then focused on milk chocolate.
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  Around 1900, he built a factory and a town in Pennsylvania to
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  support workers and their families with homes, parks and
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  schools. Hershey milk chocolate bars
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  became a popular everyday treat and the company added bite sized
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  wrapped chocolates that many people share during holidays.
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  Hershey also makes baking cocoa and chocolate chips that
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  families use for cookies and brownies.
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  Did you know? Hershey operates A visitor
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  center where people can watch parts of the chocolate making
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  process and learn how ingredients are blended?
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  Let's add a yes or no question that teaches a new detail.
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  Do the letters in M&M stand for the last names Mars and Murray?
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  Yes, the name comes from Forest Mars and Bruce Murray, who work
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  together on the candy. That little naming fact connects
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  directly to how partnerships sometimes help companies create
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  new products. Now let's talk about Nestle, a
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  company that started in Switzerland in the 1800s.
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  Henri Nestle began with foods for infants, and chocolate soon
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  followed. As Swiss makers experimented
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  with blending cocoa, sugar and milk.
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  Swiss processes made chocolate smoother and easier to mold into
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  bars. Over time, Nestle became known
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  for chocolate bars, wafers and baking chocolate that home cooks
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  use for cakes and brownies. The company expanded to many
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  countries and added other foods and drinks.
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  Did you know? Nestle helped spread the idea of
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  milk chocolate worldwide through research on how to mix milk
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  evenly into chocolate. Next up is Ferrero, an Italian
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  company with a strong focus on hazelnuts and smooth chocolate
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  textures. after World War 2, cocoa was rare in parts of
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  Europe, so makers blended cocoa with ground hazelnuts to stretch
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  supplies without losing flavor. Ferrero developed spreads,
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  individually wrapped chocolates with crisp shells, and kid Focus
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  treats. The company carefully controls
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  roasting and grinding to keep flavors balanced.
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  Did you know Ferrero also owns the mint brand Tic Tac, which is
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  not chocolate at all but shows how confectionery companies can
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  include many kinds of sweets. Now for a question that opens a
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  fresh fact about Ghirardelli. Which Swiss company owns
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  Ghirardelli? Today it is Lint and Sprungly.
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  This ownership helps Ghirardelli share knowledge and quality
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  standards with another famous Swiss chocolate maker while
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  keeping its own brand identity. Let's spend a moment on
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  Ghirardelli's story. The company was founded in 1852
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  by Domenico Ghirardelli, an Italian chocolatier who settled
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  in San Francisco, CA. Ghirardelli experimented with
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  cocoa processing in the 1800s. A discovery inside the company's
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  facilities led to using gravity and warmth to draw cocoa butter
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  out of ground cocoa, a method known as the Broma process.
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  This made cocoa powder easier to produce and used for drinking
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  chocolate and baking. Ghirardelli later became known
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  for premium baking chips and signature chocolate squares
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  filled with caramel, mint or almond.
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  If you have ever walked through Ghirardelli Square in San
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  Francisco, you may have seen the big sign and smelled warm
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  chocolate from the shop where sundaes and hot cocoa are
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  served. Did you know Ghirardelli often
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  prints the cacao percentage on its dark bars so you can compare
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  how intense the chocolate flavor is?
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  We cannot talk about the top makers without Cadbury, which is
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  now part of Mondelez International.
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  Cadbury began in England in the 1800s as a shop selling cocoa
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  and drinking chocolate. It grew into a factory business
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  and became known for smooth milk chocolate bars and Easter treats
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  like foil wrapped eggs. Mondelez formed in 2012 after a
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  company split manages global snack brands, and Cadbury is one
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  of its strongest chocolate names.
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  Kids in many countries recognize Cadbury's purple wrappers on
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  grocery shelves. Here comes a trivia check that
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  adds a new detail. In which year did Cadbury first
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  sell its Dairy Milk chocolate? It launched in 19 O 5.
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  This bar became a best seller and helped make milk chocolate a
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  daily favorite in the United Kingdom.
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  We also see how global companies share and swap brands in
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  different regions. For example, wafer bars,
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  truffles and Proline's may have different recipes depending on
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  local tastes. Some places prefer a creamier
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  style with more milk powder, while others like a darker, less
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  sweet flavor. Companies test products with
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  taste panels and adjust roasting times and sugar levels carefully
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  to match local preferences. Did you know a change of just a
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  few degrees in roasting can affect how chocolate smells and
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  tastes? Let's add a yes or no that
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  brings in a fresh point. Is Kit Kat made by different
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  companies in the United States and in most other countries?
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  Yes, Hershey makes Kit Kat for the US, while Nestle makes it
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  for many other countries. That is a unique licensing
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  arrangement that shows how brands can travel in different
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  ways across borders. We have time for one more new
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  fact question. Is the Cocoa Fruit a pod that
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  grows directly on the trunk and main branches of the tree?
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  Yes, the cocoa pod grows right on the trunk and large branches.
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  Inside each pod are rows of beans covered in a white sweet
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  pulp that farmers scoop out before fermenting and drying.
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  As we look back across these makers, a few patterns stand
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  out. The companies became leaders by
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  combining careful sourcing of cocoa, study factory processes
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  and smart branding. Mars built global scale with
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  consistent products and partnerships.
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  Hershey made milk chocolate a daily treat in America and
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  invested in a worker community. Nestle advanced techniques for
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  milk chocolate and expanded to many foods.
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  Ferrero specialized in hazelnut chocolate combinations and
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  elegant wrapped candies. Cadbury, now in Mondelez, turned
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  milk chocolate into a family staple in the UK and beyond.
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  Ghirardelli brought early processing discoveries and built
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  a lasting identity around premium bars, baking chocolate
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  and a welcoming visitor experience in San Francisco.
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  Did you know some factories use conching, a long mixing and
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  warming step to smooth chocolate and improve flavor?
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  The timing of conching can change how silky the final
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  chocolate feels on your tongue. Did you know cocoa farmers often
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  plant shade trees like banana or plantainer cocoa to protect them
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  from too much sun and wind? Let's wrap up with a quick
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  recap. Chocolate starts on cocoa trees
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  in warm regions, and farmers prepare beans that factories
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  roast, grind and blend into bars and baking ingredients.
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  The top five makers we explored are Mars, Hershey, Nestle,
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  Ferrero and Cadbury within Mondelez, each with a history of
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  inventions, partnerships and popular treats.
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  We also highlighted Ghirardelli, founded in 1852 in San
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  Francisco, known for the Broma process, premium squares and
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  baking chocolate, and owned today by Lint and Sprungley.
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  Along the way, you learned that Cote d'Ivoire leads in cocoa
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  production, that M&M stands for Mars and Murray, that Cadbury
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  released Dairy Milk in 19 O Five, that Kit Kat has different
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  makers in the US and many other countries, and that cocoa pods
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  grow right on the trees, trunk and branches.
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  The next time you see a chocolate bar, baking chips or
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  hot cocoa mix, you will know the steps and the companies that
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  helped bring it from a tropical farm to your kitchen and.
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  Beyond breakfast, Feeling fine, adventures waiting.
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  Don't be late. Today's the day we celebrate.