[3][4] Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when it started following the steps of its predecessor Kraft Foods Inc., which had taken over the brand in 1990.

[8] The brand's name is a portmanteau of the product's two main ingredients: "Milch" (milk) and "Kakao" (cocoa).

[9] On November 17, 1825, Swiss chocolatier Philippe Suchard (1797–1884) established a pâtisserie in Neuchâtel where he sold a hand-made dessert, chocolat fin de sa fabrique.

[13] Their products were introduced in Austria in the 1910s in order to spread popularity, and by 1913 the company was producing 18 times more chocolate than they did when at the original plant in 1880.

[13] By the 1960s the Milka script logo and its lilac packaging was trademarked, quickly becoming Germany’s number one chocolate.

[9] In 2015, Milka used a lilac-colored boat with Lila the mascot on it to tour the rivers of Germany and Austria during the summer.