History of Cadbury

Cadbury was founded by none other than John Cadbury in 1824 when he opened a grocer’s shop in Bull street, Birmingham. There, he sold many items including cocoa and drinking powder.

In 1831, Cadbury opened its first factories in Crooked Lane because John Cadbury wanted to started producing chocolate on a larger scale. By 1842, Cadbury was selling 16 different drinking chocolates and 11 different cocoas! These included: Churchman’s chocolate, Spanish chocolate, Iceland moss, Pearl and Homeopathic. (In 1847, the first chocolate bar was created by Joseph Fry).

John Cadbury died in 1861 and handed over his business to his sons. However, at this time business was bad and many chocolate manufacturers were shutting down.

In 1866, the brothers bought a new press that was being used by a Dutch manufacturer. The press was used to squeeze cocoa butter from the cocoa beans so they would not have to use starch to hide its taste. This would potentially save them money but it was risky. They did not know whether their new product “Cocoa Essence” would sell successfully. It did however, and dramatically increased Cadbury’s sales.

The first Cadbury Easter egg was created in 1875. The earliest eggs had a plain surface and were filled with sugar-coated chocolate drops. Later versions of the Easter eggs were decorated with piping and marzipan flowers.  

A problem rose for the Cadbury brothers in 1875 when a Swiss manufacturer began producing milk chocolate. It was only in 1897 were the Cadbury brothers able to launch their own milk chocolate but by that time, Swiss milk chocolate had already dominated the market.

Fun fact: The Cadbury brothers did not want their factory to be a dull, sad place so in 1879, they opened up a new factory in the countryside. This factory had spaces for the workers to play sports such as football, hockey and tennis, heat up their meals and go swimming!

Cadbury dairy milk was launched in 1905. When creating it, Cadbury brothers wanted it to have more milk than any other chocolate bar. Their dairy milk bar gradually became a huge success and became the most popular chocolate bar in the UK by the 1920s. From then on, Cadbury has released many more products such as the Creme egg, the Flake, Cadbury roses, the Curly Wurly and more.

Now Cadbury is a household name. Their products are spread throughout the world. We know we don’t need to tell you twice to visit our store and buy some Cadbury chocolate! 

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Sources:
https://www.cadbury.co.uk/the-story
Picture:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2924303/As-Hershey-s-launches-legal-battle-drive-Cadbury-New-York-sweets-similar-American-chocolate-left-bitter-taste-Brits.html