Cadbury - Home to Britain's Favourite Brand

If all of the Cadbury Crème Eggs manufactured in the West Midlands were stacked on top of each other, the pile would be eight times higher than Everest. These and other amazing facts demonstrate the huge impact that one of the region's most famous Quaker sons has had on the world of confectionery manufacturing.

Cadbury began as a grocer's shop selling cocoa in Birmingham, UK in 1824. It was an overnight success. By 1879 the world-famous Cadbury factory in the Birmingham suburb of Bournville was complete. It pioneered the concept of the garden city, providing good-quality housing for its workforce, and establishing libraries, colleges and sports fields. Today, the Cadbury brand is famous across the world. Three billion items of chocolate are produced here every year, using one million litres of English and Welsh milk and 50,000 tonnes of cocoa, imported from Ghana. Bournville is the biggest Cadbury factory in the world, and the centre of all Cadbury new product development. Location is vital to the company's continued success, as Media Relations Manager, Tony Bilsborough explains:

"Taste is everything. We want today's generation of chocolate lovers to enjoy the same tastes their grandmothers knew. To ensure that, we use exactly the same raw materials in exactly the same way. The Cadbury Dairy Milk recipe is a secret known to only a handful of people. It is kept locked in a safe and is still our most popular product. We have a skilled and committed workforce, which is increasingly computer literate with the advent of new technology. Our distribution centre in nearby Minworth is the biggest chilled warehouse in Europe and ideally placed close to the main motorway network for access to the whole of the UK."

John and George Cadbury were influential figures in the formation of Birmingham in the late 19th century. No doubt, they would thoroughly approve of the city's continued development and its innovative approach to urban regeneration. Modern day Cadbury retains its founders' pioneering spirit, developing new products that reflect the changing face of society. Cadbury Heroes, for example, are designed for sharing. The popcorn-style tub is a departure from traditional chocolate box designs and was developed for a new generation of chocolate lovers who prefer to "dip in" rather than carefully select a chocolate. Similarly, since the end of the last war, there has been a growing demand for chocolate that can be eaten "on the go". The recently launched Cadbury Brunch Bar is for people who don't have time to eat breakfast in the morning and want to grab a quick snack. Other brands, like Crunchie, Roses and Bournville, have remained unchanged since their launch in the early 20th century.

Cadburys is the UK's favourite chocolate, with 30% of the market. Seventy percent of all chocolate is bought on impulse so branding is vitally important:

"The visual signals that customers immediately recognise are colour, logo and name," says Tony. "Our hallmark purple colour - reputed to be Queen Victoria's favourite colour - was introduced in the late 19th century. The distinctive Cadbury signature first appeared in the 1920s. It belonged to the, then, MD, William A. Cadbury."

Chocolate consumption across the world is at record levels and Cadbury continues to go from strength to strength. To gain an idea of the volumes involved, if all of the Cadbury Roses manufactured in Bournville were laid end to end they would stretch to New York and back again. What is even more impressive is that the Cadbury name has stretched even further and devotees the world over can't get enough of its creamy chocolate taste.

Interview given by Tony Bilsborough, Media Relations Manager.

For more information about Cadbury, visit www.cadbury.co.uk.