The second youngest of the brothers, Ludwig Stollwerck was instrumental in introducing new technology including the first vending machines in 1887.

It set up separate companies in various territories to manufacture vending machines to sell not just chocolate, but cigarettes, matches, chewing gum and soap products.

In 1902 the company went public, for which purpose the Stollwerck brothers later also joined the Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee (Colonial Economic Committee), which had been represented in Cologne since 1905.

[13][14] Costly acquisitions and the global economic downturn of the Great Depression devastated Stollwerck's finances.

[15] The renovators measures were not very successful and in 1970, Stollwerck was named "Versager des Jahres" (Failure of the Year) by the business magazine Capital.

Its finances worsened until 1972, when Hans Imhoff bought the company[18] and guided it to great success as a chocolate manufacturer with plants in West Germany and abroad, directly competing with long-established brands such as Sarotti.

Over the next 30 years, Stollwerck became one of the largest chocolate manufacturers with factories in Germany and abroad as well as taking over traditional brands such as Sprengel, Sarotti and Chocolaterie Jacques in Eupen.

In 2001 Hans Imhoff retired and Stollwerck sold its Eastern European subsidiaries to Kraft Foods.

In 2002 Stollwerck was sold to Barry Callebaut AG, the world's largest chocolate company, which is majority owned by the Jacobs family.

[30] Barry Callebaut then bought back its public shares and ceased production at the parent factory in Cologne, just leaving administrative functions there.

[33][34] At that time, Stollwerck had five factories in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland; it employed 1700 staff and its annual production was around 100,000 tonnes of chocolate.