Cadbury, formerly Cadbury’s and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company.
It is wholly owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010.
The company is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars.
Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Uxbridge, west London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Cadbury was established in Birmingham, England in 1824, by John Cadbury, a Quaker who sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate. Cadbury developed the business with his brother Benjamin, followed by his sons Richard and George. George developed the Bournville estate, a model village designed to give the company’s workers improved living conditions. Dairy Milk chocolate, introduced in 1905, used a higher proportion of milk within the recipe compared with rival products. By 1914, the chocolate was
the company’s best-selling product. Cadbury, alongside Rowntree’s and Fry’s, were the big three British confectionery manufacturers throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries.
It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products.
Cadbury Dairy Milk was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1905 and now consists of a number of products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made with exclusively milk chocolate. In 2014, Dairy Milk was ranked the best-selling chocolate bar in the UK. It is manufactured and distributed by
the Hershey Company in the United States under licence from Cadbury.
A Cadbury Creme Egg is a chocolate-like confection produced in the shape of an egg, originating from the British chocolatier Cadbury. The product consists of a thick chocolate-like shell containing an enzymatically-derived sweet white and yellow filling that resembles fondant. The filling mimics the albumen and yolk of a soft boiled egg from a fowl such as a chicken or goose. The Creme Egg is the best selling confectionery item between New Year’s Day and Easter in the UK.
Cadbury Roses are a selection of machine wrapped chocolates made by Cadbury. Introduced in 1938, they are named after the English packaging equipment company “Rose Brothers” (later Rose Forgrove), based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, that manufactured and supplied the machines that wrapped the chocolates, although in 2016 the US owners of the company made a controversial decision to wrap the chocolates in identical sized “flow wraps”.
Milk Tray is a brand of boxed chocolates currently manufactured by Cadbury. It was first produced in 1915 and continued in production throughout the remainder of the First World War. More than 2,000 of
Cadbury’s male employees joined the British Armed Forces, and to support the British war effort, Cadbury provided chocolate, books and clothing to the troops. Milk Tray is one of the longest running brands in the confectioner’s portfolio.
The Cadbury signature logo is derived from the signature of William Cadbury. It was adopted as the worldwide logo in the 1970s.
Cadbury famously trademarked the colour purple for chocolates with registrations in 1995 and 2004. However, the validity of these trademarks is the matter of an ongoing legal dispute following objections by Nestlé.
Cadbury was granted its first Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1854. It has been a holder of a Royal Warrant from Elizabeth II since 1955.
One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain’s most successful exports.
The most valuable chocolate bar in the world is a 100-year old Cadbury’s chocolate bar which went on Captain Robert Scott’s first Discovery expedition (1901-1904) to the Antarctic. The bar, which is 10 cm (4 in) long, wrapped and uneaten in a cigarette tin, was bought for £470 ($687) by an anonymous buyer at Christie’s, London, UK on 25 September 2001. The bar was made at Cadbury’s Bournville factory in Birmingham and was part of 1,587 kg (3,500 lb) of cocoa and chocolate Scott took on the trip.
The first hollowed-out, moulded chocolate Easter eggs were produced by the British confectionery company Fry’s, based in Bristol, UK, in 1873. But the now ubiquitous Easter treat really took off two years later in 1875 when produced by rival firm Cadbury, who struck upon the idea of filling their
eggs with sugared almonds.
Cadbury Athletic Football Club is an amateur football club based in Birmingham, England. Affiliated with the Cadbury confectionery company and playing in the company colours of purple and white, they are currently members of the Midland League Division One and play at the Triplex Sports Ground.
In January 2017, Cadbury became the official snack partner of the Premier League.