FROM SELLING COFFEE-COCOA TO THE MOST LOVABLE CHOCOLATE BRAND: SUCCESS STORY OF CADBURY
5 Fantastic Facts About Cadbury:
- Cadbury was the first company to use heart-shaped boxes sold for Valentine’s Day in 1861.
- Cadbury was the pioneering company that started not working on bank holidays and instigated days off for workers.
- More than 350 million bars of Dairy Milk are sold every year, that’s approximately one million bars sold per day.
- Cadbury was the official chocolate supplier for the Australian Army during World War II.
- Cadbury was the official cocoa and chocolate maker for Queen Victoria. John Cadbury and his brother were given the first Royal Warrant by Her Majesty in 1854.
Introduction
Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company, currently owned by Mondelēz International. Cadbury has its international headquarters at Uxbridge in Greater London and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. The founder John Cadbury started Cadbury in 1847 with his brother. Being the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley’s, Cadbury is widely known for its Dairy Milk Chocolate because of its consumers’ love.
John Cadbury and his brother Benjamin collaborated and started the company named Cadbury Brothers, and they began selling tea, coffee, and chocolate. In 1854, they opened their office in London and received their Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa from Queen Victoria.
How Cadbury Started
It was the year of 1824, when John Cadbury, a young Quaker, opened a shop at 93 Bull Street in Birmingham city center where he used to sell coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate and cocoa. His shop was a healthier alternative to the alcohol shops, which was a big cause behind poverty during that time. Later by 1842, John was selling around 11 kinds of cocoa and 16 kinds of drinking chocolate. Soon John’s brother Benjamin joined the company and formed Cadbury Brothers of Birmingham which was not only doing well but also received a Royal Warrant as the manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa for Queen Victoria in 1854. After his retirement in 1861, John passed the company down to his other brothers, George and Richard. By the 1880s the Cadbury family had their own ‘factory in a garden’ in Bournville, to make chocolate while providing a safe and healthy environment for their employees to live and work. The firm’s first major breakthrough was the Cadburys’ Cocoa Essence, whereas by 1897, they also had manufactured their first milk chocolate bar to compete with the Swiss chocolate brands. This bar with a very high proportion of milk turned out to be the company’s best-selling bar in the year 1914. George Cadbury Junior, who was behind the development of this bar, said that a customer’s daughter suggested the name ‘Dairy Milk,’ which everyone liked for this renowned brand. Since then Cadbury’s business has been ever expanding. Though Cadbury is now owned by an American confectionery giant Mondelez International, the suburb of Bournville will always be the heart of the company.
Story Behind the Name and Logo
The infamous brand Cadbury was initially named after the founder John Cadbury, but was later called “Cadbury Brothers” due to the partnership between John Cadbury and his brother Benjamin Cadbury. Later on, the brand dropped the “Brothers” leaving the iconic Cadbury name only.
Whereas the original logo of the brand only featured the name of the brand in bold and rounded letters with pronounced serifs, inspired by the signature of William Cadbury.. But this logo was not satisfactory, with enough details to represent the brand. That is when the iconic Glass and a Half symbol was initially created in 1928, reflecting the amount of milk used in Cadbury’s chocolate recipe. The symbol and phrase “there’s a glass and a half in everyone” which is now globally recognized by all chocolate lovers, associating the chocolate brand with the friendly connotations of kindness and giving.
First Model
The first model of Cadbury was just a store in Birmingham city centre selling some basic items like tea, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate. As said before, drinking hot chocolates was seen as a healthier alternative to alcohol at that time. Then after 7 years, they started selling 30 varieties of drinking chocolates and cocoa. While the company was operating very well in this way, John Cadbury was doing these with his brother Benjamin as a helping hand and Cadbury was operating as Cadbury Brothers, by 1897, the brothers had also manufactured their first milk chocolate bar too.
Tough Time
The tough time for Cadbury was with its ethical issues. The owner of Cadbury, Mondelēz International, was embroiled in fresh allegations of employing child labour. It got exposed after footage from an investigation that had children working with machetes on cocoa farms in its supply chain. Children as young as 10 have been found working in Ghana to harvest cocoa pods and supply for Mondelēz International. Ayn Riggs, founder of Slave Free Chocolate said, “It’s horrifying to see these children using these long machetes, which are sometimes half their height. Chocolate companies promised to clean this up over 20 years ago. They knew they were profiting from child labour and have shirked their promises.”
A spokesperson for Mondelēz International said “We’re deeply concerned by the incidents documented in the Dispatches programme. We explicitly prohibit child labour in our operations and have been working relentlessly to take a stand against this.”
Future of Cadbury
On 10th May 2022, Mondelēz International provided updates on its future goals. Its plan is to have 3% – 5% Organic Net Revenue growth, up from previous guidance of 3% plus.
“Our competitive advantages in the marketplace and focused strategy on global snacking leadership give us great confidence in our ability to sustain strong top-and bottom-line growth for many years to come,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Mondelēz International. “Building on our category leadership, favorable geographic footprint, and the power of our iconic brands, we are well positioned for stronger growth in the decade ahead.”
It will continue to prioritize Growth, Execution and Culture as three pillars of its strategy and add Sustainability as its fourth pillar.
Key Milestones of Cadbury
1824: John Cadbury opens a grocer to provide beverages as a substitute for alcohol in Birmingham, England.
1849: Until then chocolate was widely available in Britain, but only for drinking. Cadbury created their first ‘eating chocolate’.
1861: The Cadbury Brothers, Richard & George, took over their father’s business after he became ill.
1875: Cadbury introduced their first easter egg made of Dark Chocolate and filled with sugared almonds.
1879: Bournville’s “The Factory in a Garden” was born in Birmingham, where Cadbury could make chocolate and provide a safe and healthy environment for their employees to live and work.
1881: Cadbury received its first overseas order from Australia.
1906: Cadbury Dairy Milk was introduced in Bournville and shot to the top of the Cadbury hall of fame.
1920: Cadbury went on its iconic purple color. It now has its own Pantone reference number, 2685C.
1921: The cursive Cadbury logo was introduced in 1920, inspired by the signature of William Cadbury.
1939: During the Second World War, Cadbury was proud to be the official supplier of chocolate to the Australian Armed Force.
1956: Chocolate in the form of Cadbury Roses was launched as a symbol of “Thank You”.
1998: Cadbury created Cadbury Favourite, a box filled with everyone’s favorite Cadbury treats.
2001: Cadbury launched the Dream Block, filled with real white chocolate.
2007: The world went bananas for the Cadbury Gorilla Advertisement, another example of Cadbury bringing joy into our living rooms.
2021: Cadbury broke their manufacturing record by producing 58,000 tonnes of chocolates in a single year.
2022: Cadbury celebrates 100 years of making Cadbury in Australia and bringing people together including stories of progress, challenge, and inspiration that built our nation.
