Ioana Gordon-Smith unwraps the Whittaker's story in Pātaka exhibition
9 Aug 2026, Rachel Healy
This article first appeared in The Post on 8 August 2026
This article first appeared in The Post on 8 August 2026
Chocolate has a remarkable history; it spans thousands of years and touches on everything from Indigenous cultivation and global trade to industrialisation and contemporary questions around ethics and sustainability. Whittaker's stands out within that history as arguably Aotearoa New Zealand’s most famous chocolate brand. Understanding how that came to be is the underpinning of our exhibition.
New Zealand’s role in the chocolate industry is relatively young yet Whittaker’s reputation is now world class. Nationally, it’s won New Zealand’s ‘Most Trusted Brand’ for 15 consecutive years. Locally, we wanted to trace how Whittaker’s grew from the ground up – how it put Porirua on the map and took Porirua-produced chocolate out into the world.
Whittaker’s also has an amazing collection of creative collaborations, so its story hits that sweet spot of being informative and immersive.
Unwrapped reveals the moving parts behind the bar: the family history, the archives, the factory, the staff, the advertising, the cocoa relationships, the collaborations and the decisions that built the brand. It looks behind the wrapper to trace how the company grew from J.H. Whittaker selling products from his cart to a globally recognised brand. We also share how chocolate is made and the ‘beans-to-bar’ manufacturing process that Whittaker’s embraces.
Oh, this has been the most fun part! We’ve been lucky to literally go behind the scenes – into the factories, offices and workshops – to photograph and interview staff.
Whittaker’s has a collection of photographs going back to the early 1900s, including of J.H. Whittaker and other family members and early packaging. From these, we’ve created a family album stretching across the 130 years.
Nostalgia is important and 130 years is a long time, so we want to honour the stories, photographs, moments and products across that period. But chocolate itself is also a contemporary story; even though it has a long history, today’s consumers care more than ever about where their food comes from and how it’s produced. Much of Unwrapped explores how Whittaker’s has positioned itself within ethical and sustainable chocolate production practices.
Whittaker’s is constantly balancing tradition with innovation. Even though the company continues to produce classics like Creamy Milk and the Peanut Slab, it’s consistently releasing new limited edition flavours. We’re aiming to get all the flavours in the show, but I’ll be honest, the blocks do get pilfered by staff every now and then, so we have to keep replacing them!
We’ve brought that into the exhibition primarily through a selection of advertisements, including the famous ‘Good Honest Chocolate’ campaign. The more recent social media content also features, particularly the ‘Insta Craft’ series, which is presented as both stills and reels. Of course, the Whittaker’s packaging is its own form of marketing, so the exhibition features a selection of products demonstrating the evolving look and feel over the years.
Whittaker’s has had a series of artist collaborations – the company works with artists who in turn work with Whittaker’s products. Local artists Miriama Grace-Smith used Whittaker’s chocolate to outline her mural, while Hikurangi Edwards carves from chocolate and will be giving public demonstrations during the exhibition season. Whittaker’s has also worked with Dylan Mulder, an award-winning 3D artist and technical designer, who made a fabulous neckpiece using Whittaker’s packaging. Dylan’s work is in the exhibition.
Whittaker’s has collaborated with of other creatives too: illustrators, designers, fabricators and content-makers. Human Dynamo, who coincidentally fabricated an artwork in Pātaka’s Jasmine Togo-Brisby’s exhibition last year, created a large Whittaker’s ‘Time Machine’. Unwrapped features an intricate, oversized diorama, made almost entirely of paper, which whimsically reimagines the Whittaker’s factory. There’s also a moving and still image series of miniatures created out of Whittaker’s chocolate, from sailboats to a working foosball table.
Chocolate has had a long and enduring allure, in part because its flavours are emotional and cultural as much as they’re produced. We couldn’t bring a tasting station into the show – although we do have lots of chocolate giveaways planned – so we’ve honed in on chocolate scents. The scent station has a range of ‘notes’ associated with chocolate, and we’re inviting visitors to activate the scents, guess the aroma and then learn what they’ve been smelling.
Whittaker’s is one of Porirua’s great success stories and an important part of the city’s history. Since 1969, every block of Whittaker’s chocolate has been made here, so the company has become part of the city’s industrial, social and cultural life. Locals are familiar with the smell floating over the city. Generations have worked at the factory. In fact, Whittaker’s is only a few years younger than Porirua, which officially became a city in 1965
Unwrapped is part of a wider season celebrating Porirua. It sits alongside exhibitions on local photographer Neil Penman, who documented Porirua’s social history for decades, and fashion designer Lindah Lepou, an icon with connections to Cannons Creek, who shares her world of Pacific couture. All three exhibitions recognise and celebrate the talent that has come out of Porirua.
Unwrapped: Whittaker’s since 1896 continues at Pātaka Art+Museum until 28th February 2027. Free entry
