Dove is a brand of chocolate made and marketed by the Mars company. Mars, Incorporated is an American worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 3rd bigest privately operated firm in the United States by Forbes. Dove is sold as Galaxy in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Middle East. The Galaxy brand was initially launched in the UK in 1960. The specific name comes from Dove Candies & Ice Cream, which were Chicago sweet shops owned by Leo Stefanos. Born in Greece, Stefanos settled on Chicago's South Side to raise a family. According to Dove Chocolate company lore, he was frightened when his little son, Michael, raced recklessly down the street in pursuit of the neighborhood ice cream truck and decided to create his own ice cream bar hoping of keeping Michael and his brother and sister, Chris and Amy, closer to home. The blocky chocolate-covered bars were sold only in the Chicago area until after Stefano's death, when his son extended your business and then sold it to Mars, Incorporated. The Galaxy and Dove brands cover a wide range of products including chocolate bars in milk chocolate, Caramel and Fruit & Nut varieties, Minstrels, Ripple, Amicelli, Duetto, Promises, Bubbles and Truffle. The Galaxy and Dove brands also market a wide range of products including ready-to-drink chocolate milk, hot chocolate powder, chocolate cakes, ice cream and more. The Dove brand is known for the messages written on the inside of the foil wrapper of each individual chocolate piece.
