Losing Cadbury's Somerdale

  Oh no!  The iconic Cadbury Somerdale site in the UK is up for sale.  Last January, Kraft acquired this nearly 200 year old company for close to $19 B. Considered the largest European beverage and food deal on record, it also represents the loss of historic confectionery legend started by John Cadbury in 1824 in Birmingham, UK.

As a Quaker, John Cadbury believed that traditionally served alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine lead to poverty and morale decay. Cadbury introduced alternative beverages to the market by serving, cocoa, hot chocolate, coffee and tea in his Birmingham shop.  By 1842, Cadbury was selling an array of cocoas and drinking chocolates (11 types of cocoa and 16 drinking chocolates).

Soon the company turned into a family affair as other family members came to support and operate the Cadbury empire.  Along the way, Cadbury supported his employees by building living quarters near the production factories allowing families to be close to work and assisting employees with maintaining a comfortable work life balance.

The 220 acre Somerdale site includes 600 residential units along with various confectionery production equipment. 

A petition was started to help protect this site from future development at http://www.saveoursomerdale.co.uk/

The End of Tin for Cadbury

Cadbury is moving towards eco-friendly packaging. After 70-years of using metal tin packaging for their festive brands, tin is out and square, cardboard boxes are in. Cadbury is waiting for customer feedback on the new designs in preparation for the new design launch.

Mix Up Another Please

Watch out Canada! Giles & Posners and Cadbury (the British chocolate company known in the USA for their chocolate egg Easter commercial and the cute little yellow chick) are teaming up to launch a chic new hot chocolate machine. The new machine referred to as The Hot Chocolate Drinks Maker is one of many new products the duo expects to launch this Fall in the Canadian market.

Personally, I am a little jealous right now. I love my Cocoa Latte Maker, but I can’t wait to see what this machine has to offer! It appears I will be browsing Canadian online stores this Fall for my own Hot Chocolate Drinks Maker.

P.S. Is it too late for a name change?