| Type | Public (LSE: CBRY, NYSE: CBY) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1889 |
| Headquarters | Uxbridge, London, England, UK |
| Key people | Roger Carr, Chairman Todd Stitzer, CEO |
| Industry | Confectionery and Soft drinks |
| Products | See products |
| Market cap | £8.8bn (as of 11/5/2008)[1] |
| Revenue | ▲ £7,971 million (2007) |
| Operating income | ▲ £1,050 million (2007) |
| Net income | ▲ £407 million (2007) |
| Employees | 71,657 (2008)[2] |
| Website | www.cadbury.com |
Cadbury plc (LSE: CBRY, NYSE: CBY) is a confectionery and beverage company with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom, and is the world's largest confectionery manufacturer. The firm was formerly known as Cadbury Schweppes plc before demerging in May 2008, separating its global confectionery business from its Americas beverage unit, which has been renamed Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.[3] It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
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In 1825, John Cadbury began vending tea, coffee, and (later) chocolate at Bull Street in Birmingham in the UK and sometimes in India. The company was later known as Cadbury brothers.[4]
After John Cadbury's retirement, his sons, Richard and George, opened a major new factory at Bournville, five miles south of the city. In 1893, George Cadbury bought 120 acres (0.5 km²) of land close to the works and planned, at his own expense, a model village which would 'alleviate the evils of modern more cramped living conditions'. By 1900 the estate included 313 cottages and houses set on 330 acres (1.3 km²) of land. As the Cadburys were Quakers there were no Public houses in the estate[5]; in fact, it was their Quaker beliefs that first led them to sell tea, coffee and cocoa as alternatives to alcohol.[6]
After World War I, Cadbury Brothers Limited undertook a financial merger with J.S. Fry & Sons Limited another chocolate manufacturer.[4]
Cadbury's merged with drinks company Schweppes to form Cadbury Schweppes in 1969.[7]
Snapple, Mistic and Stewart's (formerly Cable Car Beverage) was sold by the Triarc to Cadbury Schweppes in 2000 for $1.45 billion[8] In October of that same year, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Royal Crown from Triarc.[9]
In March 2007, it was revealed that Cadbury Schweppes was planning to split its business into two separate entities: one focusing on its main chocolate and confectionery market; the other on its U.S. drinks business.[10] It was speculated that the split could dramatically increase the company's value, from its then market value of about £12,600 million, to up to an estimated £16,000 million combined value.
The demerger took effect on 2 May, 2008, with its North American drinks brands being demerged into Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc.[3] Cadbury will continue to own its Australian beverage unit.[11]
Cadbury itself and its range of confectionery products were traditionally marketed with the Cadbury name being used in the possessive case, such as Cadbury's Creme Egg. In the early 21st century however, a corporate rebranding saw all lines bear the non-possessive Cadbury and their marketing materials now explicitly avoid references to the older possessive use of the trademark in relation to individual brands and the company itself.
Cadbury UK also owns Trebor Bassett, Fry's, Maynard's and Halls. The confectionery business in the UK is known as Cadbury Trebor Bassett and, as of August 2004, had eight factories and 3,000 staff in the UK. Biscuits bearing the Cadbury brand, such as Cadbury Fingers, are produced under licence by Burton's Foods. Ice cream based on Cadbury products, like 99 Flake, is made under licence by Frederick's Dairies. Cadbury's cakes and chocolate spread are manufactured under license by Premier Foods, but the cakes were originally part of Cadbury Foods Ltd with factories at Blackpole in Worcester and Moreton on The Wirral with distribution depots throughout the UK. In October 2007, Cadbury announced the closure of the Keynsham chocolate factory, formerly part of Fry's. Between 500 and 700 jobs would be affected by this change. Production transferred to other plants in England and Poland.[12]
Cadbury plc's presence in the United States consists of the confectionery unit Cadbury Adams, manufacturers of gum and mints but not chocolate. Cadbury merged with Peter Paul in 1978.[13] Ten years later Hershey's acquired the chocolate business from Cadbury's.[13] Accordingly although the Cadbury group's chocolate products have been sold in the U.S. since 1988 under the Cadbury trademark name, the chocolate itself has been manufactured by Hershey's and can be found in Hershey's chocolate stores.
Prior to the May 2008 demerger, the North American business also contained beverage unit Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages. In 1982, Cadbury Schweppes purchased the Duffy-Mott Company.[14]
In May 2006, Cadbury Schweppes announced that it would be outsourcing its transactional accounting and order capture functions to Shared Business Services (SBS) centres run by a company called Genpact, (a businesses services provider) in India, China, and Romania. This was to affect all business units and be associated with U.S. and UK functions being transferred to India by the end of 2006, with all units transferred by mid-2008. Depending on the success of this move, other accounting Human Resources functions may follow. This development is likely to lead to the loss of several hundred jobs worldwide, but also to several hundred jobs being created, at lower salaries commensurate with wages paid in developing countries.[15]
Cadbury plc manufactures chocolates and sweets such as the popular Dairy Milk, as well as a limited range of beverages in Australia.
On 29 September 2008 Cadbury withdrew all of its 11 chocolate products made in its three Beijing factories, on suspicion of contamination with melamine. The recall affected the mainland China markets, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.[16] Products recalled included Dark Chocolate, a number of products in the 'Dairy Milk' range and Chocolate Éclairs.[17]
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