Cadbury

- World’s second largest confectionary company after Mars-Wrigley and now owned by Kraft Foods

Brands: Dairy Milk, Crunchie, Milk Tray, Milk Treat, Fry’s, Maynards, Halls, Bournville, Picnic, Wispa

Founder(s): John Cadbury, 1824

Cadbury History

In 1824, John opened a shop on Bull Street in Birmingham, UK to sell tea, coffee and drinking chocolate. The shop run in association with John’s brother was named ‘Cadbury Brothers of Birmingham’. The two brothers opened an office in London and in 1854 received the Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolateand cocoa to Queen Victoria.

Cadbury Trivia

1. The first Dairy Milk bar was sold in 1905.
2. Cadbury merged with drinks company Schweppes to form in 1969 and was known as “Cadbury Schweppes plc” until a May 2008 demerger, in Schweppes was spin off as  Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The merged company went on to acquire Sunkist, Canada Dry, Typhoo Tea
3. In 1861, John’s son George and Richard took over the company. In 1878, they acquired the Bournbrook estate to develop a new factory. Bournbrook was renamed to Bournville and the Bournville factory opened in 1879.
4. In 1893, George bought 120 acres (49 ha) of land close to the works and planned, at his own expense, a model village which would ‘alleviate the evils of modern more cramped living conditions’. By 1900 the estate included 313 cottages and houses set on 330 acres (130 ha) of land.
5. More than 2,000 of the company’s male employees joined the Armed Forces and to support the war effort, the company provided clothing, books and chocolate to soldiers. After the war, the Bournville factory was redeveloped and mass production began in earnest. In 1918, they opened their first overseas factory in Hobart, Tasmania and in 1919 undertook a merger with J. S. Fry & Sons,
6. During World War II, parts of the Bournville factory were turned over to war work, producing milling machines and seats for fighter aircraft.
7. In December 2008 it was announced that they were to sell its Australian beverage unit to Asahi Breweries.