The first ever chocolate bar was created in France by the company Fry & son, in 1847. The chocolate was made for cocoa powder, sugar and some melted butter; this could have been bitter according to today, however, it is still a revolution.
In 1861, John had to retire from the business as his health was deteriorating. He then handed the business over to his sons, Richard and George, who were in their early 20’s. Many chocolate companies were going bust, and the Cadbury Bros were afraid that their business might go down as well. However, they did not let this happen. They needed some financial help, and luckily their mother had left them some money. Each contributed £4000, which estimated around £600,000 as by today; this was a financial lifeline for the business. However this was not enough to keep the business alive, the brothers had to be flexible and work hard day and night. George’s job was to look after the production and the buying, while Richard managed the sales and marketing, which did not show a good sign.
In 1866, Cadbury Brothers experienced a turning point when a new processing technique was introduced to the market, resulting the launch of ‘Cadbury Cocoa Essence’, UK’s first ever pure cocoa. Before this technique was introduced, the cocoa that was produced by Cadbury contained high levels of cocoa butter; starch was added to give taste and texture. However, when George heard about the innovative press used buy a Dutch manufacturer, where they squeezed out much of the cocoa butter from the beans that they did not have to add extra cocoa butter into it. The Cadbury Brothers did not have much money and this process was very expensive, however, they dared to risk it; they were the first British manufacturers to go down this route. This step made by them made a history. Finally the press was installed in Bridge Street, where their factory was located. The new product, Cocoa Essence was introduced as ‘Absolutely Pure. Therefore Best’. This marketing helped them gain more sales which resulted in a transformation in their business- from a small company into the ‘worldwide company that Cadbury is today’.
In 1879, George worked closely with a Birmingham architect in order to create a new and bigger factory. ‘The first bricks were laid in January 1879 and 16 houses for foremen and senior employees were built on the site.’ The factory was ready to use in September 1879 at the Cadbury Brothers ‘Bournville factory in a garden’. The facilities that were provided in their company ‘were unknown to the Victorian times’. The men had excellent sporting facilities which grew were advanced over the years. The women had a garden and playground to play in. Later, both men and women were encouraged to take part in swimming. In 1866, bible readings and morning prayers were read, which create a friendly and family atmosphere. In addition to this, the Cadbury Brothers also provided train fares for workers who had to travel a long way to get to work.
In 1897, Cadbury launched milk chocolates using the reminders of cocoa butter after making Cocoa Essence.
In 1905, the milk chocolates became very popular, and it was when Cadbury introduced ‘Dairy Milk’. After the name of the factory, Bournville, Cadbury launched Bournville chocolate in 1908. In 1919, Cadbury bought the Fry’s, and they started producing chocolates in larger scales, which were enjoyed by everyone.
List of products
- 1866 – Cocoa Essence
- 1875 – Easter Egg
- 1897 – Cadbury milk Chocolate
- 1905 – Dairy milk
- 1906 – Bournville Cocoa
- 1908 – Bournville chocolate
- 1914 – Fry’s Turkish Delight
- 1915 – Milk tray
- 1920 – Cadbury Flake
- 1929 – Crunchie
- 1938 – Cadbury Roses
- 1948 – Fudge
- 1958 – Lucky Numbers
- 1960 – Skippy
- 1967 – Aztec Bar
- 1967 – Toffee Buttons
- 1970 – Curly Wurly & Old Jamaica
- 1971 – Crème Egg
- 1981 – Wispa
- 1985 – Boost
- 1987 – Twirl
- 1989 – Inspirations
- 1996 – Fuse
1990s – Today
In 1988, Cadbury decided to plan a visitor attraction – Cadbury World. The cost to build the attraction was £6 million, but the expense was worth it. Finally, they opened the Cadbury World in 1990 in Bournville on a site next to the Cadbury Factory and headquarters. They had 350,000 visitors in the first years, which were 100,000 than expected.
In 2009, Cadbury Dairy Milk became fair trade.
In 2nd February 2010, Cadbury became a part of Kraft Food Family.
In 2012, Cadbury put forward £17 million investment in R&D in the UK, to open a new global research and development centre in Bournville. It is named as the ‘Centre of Excellence’ which has brand new innovation labs, a test plant facility and a collaboration kitchen to put new ideas to the test.
