The History of Cadbury Chocolate's

1824

JOHN CADBURY OPENED BULL STREET SHOP
John Cadbury opened a grocer’s shop at 93 Bull Street, Birmingham. Among other things, he sold cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he prepared himself using a pestle and mortar.

1831

JOHN CADBURY OPENS FACTORY IN CROOKED LANE
The Cadbury manufacturing business was born in 1831, when John Cadbury decided to start producing on a commercial scale and bought a four-storey warehouse in nearby Crooked Lane.

1842
THE RANGE EXPANDS
By 1842 John Cadbury was selling no less than 16 varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 different cocoas! The earliest preserved price list shows that you could buy drinking chocolate in the form of both pressed cakes and powder.

1847
THE BUSINESS MOVES TO BRIDGE STREET
In 1847, the Cadbury brothers' booming business moved into a new, larger factory in Bridge Street in the centre of Birmingham.

1847
FRY'S PRODUCE THE FIRST CHOCOLATE BAR
18th century France produced pastilles (tablets) and bars. But it wasn’t until Bristol company Fry & Son made a ‘chocolate delicieux a manger’ in 1847 that the first bar of chocolate appeared, as we know it today.

1861
RICHARD AND GEORGE CADBURY TAKE CHARGE
John's health rapidly declined and he finally retired in 1861, handing over complete control of the business to his sons Richard and George. The brothers were just 25 and 21 when they took charge of the business.

1866
AN INNOVATIVE PROCESSING TECHNIQUE IS INTRODUCED
The turning point for the Cadbury business was the introduction of a new processing technique, resulting in the 1866 launch of 'Cadbury Cocoa Essence', the UK's first unadulterated cocoa.

1875
FIRST MILK CHOCOLATE BAR
In 1875, a Swiss manufacturer called Daniel Peter added milk to his recipe to make the first milk chocolate bar.

1875
CADBURY MAKES THEIR FIRST EASTER EGG
The first Cadbury Easter egg was made in 1875. The earliest eggs were made with dark chocolate and had a smooth, plain surface. They were filled with sugar-coated chocolate drops known as 'dragees’. Later Easter eggs were decorated and had their plain shells enhanced with chocolate piping and marzipan flowers.

1878
THE CADBURY BROTHERS ARE INSPIRED BY THEIR VISION
When the Bridge Street factory became too small, George Cadbury had a new vision of the future. 'Why should an industrial area be squalid and depressing?’ he asked. His vision was shared by his brother Richard, and they began searching for a very special site for their new factory.

1879
BOURNVILLE 'THE FACTORY IN A GARDEN' IS BORN
Birmingham architect, George H. Gadd worked closely with George Cadbury to draw up plans for the factory. The first bricks were laid in January 1879 and 16 houses for foremen and senior employees were built on the site.

1893
GEORGE CADBURY ADDS ANOTHER 120 ACRES TO BOURNVILLE
George Cadbury had already created some houses for key workers when the Bournville factory was built. Then, in 1893, he bought another 120 acres near the works and started to build houses in line with the ideals of the embryonic Garden City movement.

1895
GEORGE CADBURY BUILDS A FURTHER 143 COTTAGES IN BOURNVILLE
George Cadbury decided not to go for tunnel-backs because it limited the amount of light in the houses. Instead he chose rectangular cottages, each one with a large garden. In 1895, 143 cottages were built on the land he had bought privately, a total of 140 acres.

1897
CADBURY MILK CHOCOLATE IS LAUNCHED
When Cadbury started making Cocoa Essence they had lots of cocoa butter left over, so they used it to make bars of chocolate!

1900
EARLY OUTDOOR AND PRESS ADVERTISING
Cadbury produced some of the finest examples of posters and press advertisements during this period. A popular local artist, Cecil Aldin, was commissioned to illustrate for Cadbury. His evocative images featured in early magazine campaigns and graced poster sites all over the country.

1905
CADBURY DAIRY MILK IS LAUNCHED
Swiss manufacturers were leading the field in milk chocolate, with much better products than their rivals. In 1904, George Cadbury Jnr was given the challenge to develop a milk chocolate bar with more milk than anything else on the market.

1905
FIRST CADBURY LOGO COMMISSIONED
In 1905 William Cadbury commissioned the first Cadbury logo. He was in Paris at the time and chose Georges Auriol to create the design - Auriol also designed the signs for the Paris Metro.

1906
BOURNVILLE COCOA IS LAUNCHED
At first, Cadbury resisted creating an alkalised cocoa (a product made less bitter by adding harmless carbonate of potash) having emphasised the purity of their own cocoa. But, eventually, the company realised that alkalised cocoa was the future and created Bournville Cocoa.

1908
BOURNVILLE CHOCOLATE IS LAUNCHED
Bournville chocolate was launched in 1908. It was named after the Bournville factory where it was made, and was originally launched just as a plain chocolate bar.

1914
FRY'S TURKISH DELIGHT IS LAUNCHED
J.S. Fry & Sons merged with Cadbury in 1919 but the name of the bar remains. Fry’s Turkish Delight - rose-flavoured Turkish delight draped in milk chocolate - is a long-standing favourite.

1915
MILK TRAY IS LAUNCHED
Boxes of chocolates had been produced at Cadbury since the 1860s. But they were expensive, sold in small quantities and would only have been bought for very special occasions. Milk Tray was different: a chocolate assortment, affordable enough to be an everyday treat.

1919
CADBURY PURCHASES FRY'S
Cadbury bought Frys in 1919 and the company grew, producing delicous chocolate on a grand scale, so it could be enjoyed by everyone.

1920
CADBURY DAIRY MILK GOES PURPLE
Cadbury Dairy Milk started out in pale mauve with red script, in a continental style 'parcel wrap’ at its launch in 1905. The full Dairy Milk range became purple and gold in 1920.

1920
FLAKE IS LAUNCHED
The 'crumbliest flakiest chocolate’ was first developed in 1920. A canny Cadbury employee noticed that, when the excess from chocolate moulds was drained off, it fell in a stream and created flaky, folded chocolate.

1921
CADBURY SCRIPT LOGO FIRST APPEARS
The Cadbury script logo, based on the signature of William Cadbury, appeared first on the transport fleet in 1921. It was quite fussy to start with and has been simplified over the years. It wasn’t until 1952 that it was used across major brands.

1928
THE 'GLASS AND A HALF' SYMBOL IS INTRODUCED
It was originally used in 1928 on press and posters, but since then it’s been in TV ads and on wrapper designs, where you can still see it to this day. First of all it was just on Cadbury Dairy Milk, but it’s become the face of the company in recent years.

1928
INVESTMENT BEGINS IN CADBURY DAIRY MILK ADS
A huge success from day one, Cadbury Dairy Milk first hit the shelves in 1905. But surprisingly, little money was put into advertising it until 1928.

1929
CRUNCHIE IS LAUNCHED
A Fry’s product, Crunchie was launched to rival an Australian bar called the Violet Crumble, which first appeared in 1913.

1938
CADBURY ROSES ARE LAUNCHED
Cadbury Roses were introduced to compete in the twist wrapped assortment market. Early designs incorporated a sampler or embroidery rose design which was later replaced by a simpler rose.

1939
KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH VISIT BOURNVILLE
Bournville welcomes King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on a tour that formed part of the programme of their visit to Birmingham on March 1st 1939. 10,000 employees lined the route to welcome the King and Queen.

1939
SECOND WORLD WAR BEGINS
During the War, rationing was enforced and raw materials were in short supply so it was a question of making do and concentrating on those products they were still able to produce.

1945
POST WAR EXPANSION
Once the war ended, the company worked hard to restore business as usual. In due course of time, its efforts were rewarded and sales climbed.

1947
MILK TRAY BAR IS LAUNCHED
Eight Milk Tray Chocolates, in a bar. Imagine a box of Milk Tray Chocolates. Now imagine picking eight of the most popular chocolates – keeping their distinctive shapes – and putting them in a bar!

1948
FUDGE IS LAUNCHED
Launched in 1948, Fudge is most famous for its 1980s and early 1990s advertising jingle 'A finger of fudge is just enough to give your kids a treat’. The words were new, but the tune was borrowed and based on a traditional English folk song, 'The Lincolnshire Poacher’.

1955
FIRST CADBURY TV ADVERT
Cadbury’s ad for drinking chocolate was one of 24 that were shown on ITV’s launch night. The advert was based on the popular panel game 'Twenty Questions'.

1957
THE MAKING OF A 50S CADBURY TV ADVERT
Ever wondered how an early TV ad was made? We found this footage in the Cadbury archive showing the making of an early Roses TV ad.

1958
LUCKY NUMBERS ARE LAUNCHED
In 1958 Cadbury launched a new assortment of chewy sweets, some covered in chocolate and some not. These Lucky Numbers each had an individual number on the wrapper, hence the name. The brand was retired in 1968.

1960
SKIPPY IS LAUNCHED
The milk chocolate bar with a caramel and wafer centre launched in 1960, with the slogan ‘It’s got a crunch in the biscuit and a munch in the middle’. A classic 1960s TV ad for Skippy shows a swinging London couple getting off their scooter and going into a trendy coffee bar to pick up their Skippys.

1967
AZTEC BAR IS LAUNCHED
Made of milk chocolate, nougatine and caramel, the Aztec made a big impact on its launch in 1967.

1967
TOFFEE BUTTONS ARE LAUNCHED
A button-shaped chocolate sweet with toffee inside. Launched in 1967 and withdrawn in 1971. The packs featured brightly coloured cowboys and Indians.

1969
CADBURY MERGES WITH SCHWEPPES
The merger happened after the new Cadbury Chairman, Adrian Cadbury, was approached by his opposite number, Lord Watkinson.

1970
A DECADE OF SALES GROWTH
Many Cadbury brands - Flake, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Whole Nut and Fruit and Nut - saw vast increases in sales in the 1970s, partially due to hugely successful and memorable TV advertising campaigns.

1970
CURLY WURLY IS LAUNCHED
Curly Wurly, made of chewy caramel covered in milk chocolate, first appeared in 1970.

1970
OLD JAMAICA IS LAUNCHED
Old Jamaica was a special blend of milk and plain chocolate with rum flavoured raisins. This Cadbury Classic Selection bar is no longer made for the UK market, but you can still stock up on Old Jamaica if you look around on the Internet.

1971
CREME EGG IS LAUNCHED
Cream-filled eggs first appeared back in 1923. But the Cadbury Creme Egg we know and love today didn’t hit the shelves until 1971.

1981
WISPA IS LAUNCHED
Launched nationally in 1983 after a trial run in the North East of England, Wispa was available throughout the 1980s and 1990s and was re-born in 2007.

1985
BOOST COCONUT IS LAUNCHED
Milk chocolate covered bar with a toasted coconut and caramel centre. A variant of the mighty Boost, this coconut flavour was discontinued in 1994.

1987
TWIRL IS LAUNCHED
Twirl was launched in the UK in 1987. The brand was developed by the Cadbury Ireland business using Flake technology. It was originally launched in Ireland in 1985 as a single finger product and became a two-finger product on its UK launch.


1989
INSPIRATIONS ARE LAUNCHED
Textured fruit flavoured centres covered in milk, white and dark chocolate. Inspirations launched in 1989, in a carton with sliding drawers. Initially highly successful, it was retired in 1998.

1990
CADBURY WORLD OPENS
Factory tours had always been popular but it was impossible to run a factory smoothly if it had thousands of visitors. In 1988 Cadbury began planning a visitor attraction to take the place of the factory tours - Cadbury World.

1996
CADBURY FUSE IS LAUNCHED
Fuse exploded into the UK marketplace on ‘Fuesday’ 24th September 1996. It was a chocolate bar with a difference – instead of having a milk chocolate coating on the outside, the yummy ingredients were suspended right the way through it.

2003
CADBURY SCHWEPPES BUYS ADAMS AND BECOMES THE WORLD'S LEADING CONFECTIONERY COMPANY
Cadbury bought the world’s number 2 gum manufacturer, Adams, in 2003 and achieved its aim of leading the market.

2007
THE GORILLA ADVERT PREMIERS
'Gorilla’ showed the eponymous primate enthusiastically playing the drums on the Phil Collins record 'In the Air Tonight’. It proved hugely popular and cleaned up at advertising awards ceremonies, winning many prizes including the prestigious Grand Prix Lion at Cannes in 2008.

2008
CADBURY AND SCHWEPPES DEMERGE
The two companies demerged to allow each to concentrate on its area of expertise.

2008
CADBURY COCOA PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHED
In January 2008, Cadbury launched the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. £45 million was put aside to put into cocoa farms in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean over a decade.

2009
CADBURY DAIRY MILK BECOMES FAIRTRADE
The move to Fairtrade has the impact of tripling the sales for cocoa farmers in Ghana under Fairtrade terms, both increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, as well as opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.

2010
CADBURY BECOMES PART OF MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL
Cadbury became part of Mondelēz International family on the 2nd of February 2010.

2010
A PIECE OF BOURNVILLE HERITAGE IS RESTORED
Cadbury invested £1 million in restoring the Men’s Pavilion in Bournville to provide employees with a new gym and fitness centre.

2012
CHOCOLATE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE OPENS IN BOURNVILLE
A new global research and development centre opens in Bournville as part of a £17 million investment in R&D in the UK.

2014
INVESTMENT IN THE BOURNVILLE FACTORY
A £75 million investment into four new state-of-the-art factory lines reinforces Bournville’s position at the heart of the British chocolate industry.

2014
CHOCOLATE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME LAUNCHES
The Chocolate Research & Development programme launches at our Global Chocolate Centre of Excellence in Bournville and the hunt for our next generation of chocolate inventors begins.

2015
THE CADBURY FOUNDATION TURNS 80
June 19th 2015 marked 80 years of the Cadbury Foundation! In this year alone more than £600,000 was donated to causes across the UK & Ireland, including Help for Heroes, The British Paralympic Association and The Princes Trust.

2015
CADBURY WORLD CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
August 14th 2015 marked 25 years of choctastic fun at Bournville’s Cadbury World attraction, featuring the world’s biggest Cadbury shop.

2015
SHAHEED KHATTAK NAMED APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
For the 3rd consecutive year, the Food & Drink Federation Apprentice of the Year award was handed to a Mondelēz International apprentice from Cadbury.