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The prospect of a merger or aquisition of Cadbury has been the subject of a significant amount of opposition from British groups and organisations including trade union [[Unite the Union|Unite]].<ref>[http://www.unitetheunion.com/news__events/latest_news/keep_cadbury_independent_-_u-1.aspx] Keep Cadbury Independent - UK and Irish workers unite to stop Kraft swallowing Cadbury </ref>
The prospect of a merger or aquisition of Cadbury has been the subject of a significant amount of opposition from British groups and organisations including trade union [[Unite the Union|Unite]].<ref>[http://www.unitetheunion.com/news__events/latest_news/keep_cadbury_independent_-_u-1.aspx] Keep Cadbury Independent - UK and Irish workers unite to stop Kraft swallowing Cadbury </ref>
, as well as notable opposition from the British people due to the percieved loss of jobs and the loss of a large British [[institution]] that is an integral part of the [[Economy of the United Kingdom|British economy]]. [[Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|Business Secretary]] [[Peter Mandelson]] also warned Kraft not to try to "make a quick buck" from the acquisition of Cadbury.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/04/cadbury-bidders-will-face-opposition|title=Don't try to make a quick buck from Cadbury, Mandelson tells Kraft|date=4 December 2009|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=2010-01-10}}</ref>
, as well as notable opposition from the British people due to the percieved loss of jobs and the loss of a large British [[institution]] that is an integral part of the [[Economy of the United Kingdom|British economy]]. [[Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|Business Secretary]] [[Peter Mandelson]] also warned Kraft not to try to "make a quick buck" from the acquisition of Cadbury. However, despite their reluctance, Cadbury was bought by Kraft on the 12th of January, 2010. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/04/cadbury-bidders-will-face-opposition|title=Don't try to make a quick buck from Cadbury, Mandelson tells Kraft|date=4 December 2009|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=2010-01-10}}</ref>


== Operations ==
== Operations ==

Revision as of 09:43, 13 January 2010

Cadbury
Company typePublic (LSE: CBRY, NYSE: CBY)
IndustryConfectionery and soft drinks
Founded1824 in Birmingham, England
HeadquartersCity of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
Key people
Roger Carr (Chairman)
Todd Stitzer (CEO)
ProductsSee list of Cadbury products
Revenue£5,384 million (2008)
£388 million (2008)
£364 million (2008)
Number of employees
71,657 (2008)[1]
Websitehttp://www.cadbury.com/

Cadbury plc (LSE: CBRY, NYSE: CBY) is a British confectionery and beverage company with its headquarters in, Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom, and is the world's second largest confectionery manufacturer, after Mars/Wrigley.[2] The firm was known as "Cadbury Schweppes plc" from 1969 until its demerging in May 2008, separating its global confectionery business from its US beverage unit, which has been renamed Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.[3] The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

The company is headquartered in Mayfair, City of Westminster, Greater London.[4]

History

Early history

In 1824, John Cadbury began vending tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate at Bull Street in Birmingham, England in the UK which he produced himself. John Cadbury later moved into the production of a variety of Cocoas and Drinking Chocolates being manufactured from a factory in Bridge Street, supplying mainly to the wealthy due to the high cost of manufacture at this time. During this time a partnership was struck between John Cadbury and his brother Benjamin. At this time the company was known as 'Cadbury Brothers of Birmingham'.[5]

The two brothers opened an office in London and in 1854 received the Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa to Queen Victoria. Around this time in the 1850s the industry received a much needed boost with the reduction in high import taxes on cocoa; this allowed chocolate to become more affordable to everyone.

Due to the popularity of a new expanded product line, including the very popular Cadbury's Cocoa Essence, the company's success led to the decision in 1873 to cease the trading of tea. Around this time, master confectioner Frederic Kinchelman was appointed to share his recipe and production secrets with Cadbury's, which led to an assortment of various chocolate covered items.

In 1878, John Cadbury's sons Richard and George (who had taken over the company after John Cadbury's retirement in 1861), acquired the Bournbrook estate, comprising fourteen and a half acres of countryside five miles south of the outskirts of Birmingham. They renamed the Bournbrook estate to Bournville and opened the Bournville factory in 1879.

In 1893, George Cadbury bought 120 acres (49 ha) 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 (130 ha) of land. As the Cadbury family were Quakers there were no pubs in the estate;[6] in fact, it was their Quaker beliefs that first led them to sell tea, coffee and cocoa as alternatives to alcohol.[7]

1900 to 1950s

1915 saw the introduction of Cadbury's Milk Tray and throughout the war, more than 2,000 of Cadbury's male employees joined the Armed Forces. To support the war effort, Cadbury's provided clothing, books and chocolate to soldiers. After World War I, the Bournville factory was redeveloped and mass production began in earnest. In 1918, Cadbury's opened their first overseas factory in Hobart, Tasmania and in 1919 undertook a merger with J. S. Fry & Sons, another chocolate manufacturer which saw the integration of well known brands such as Fry's Chocolate Cream and Fry's Turkish Delight.[5]

During World War II, parts of the Bournville factory were turned over to war work, producing milling machines and pilot seats. Workers ploughed football fields in which to plant crops. As chocolate was regarded as an essential food it was placed under government supervision for the entire war. At the end of the war, normal production resumed and war time rationing of chocolate was finally ended in 1949. Cadbury's went from strength to strength with the introduction of new factories and an ever growing demand for produce.

Merger with Schweppes

The Cadbury Schweppes logo used until the demerger in 2008

Cadbury merged with drinks company Schweppes to form Cadbury Schweppes in 1969.[8]

Cadbury Schweppes went on to acquire Sunkist, Canada Dry, Typhoo Tea and more. In the US, Schweppes Beverages was created and the manufacture of Cadbury confectionery brands were licensed to Hershey's.

Snapple, Mistic and Stewart's (formerly Cable Car Beverage) were sold by Triarc to Cadbury Schweppes in 2000 for $1.45 billion.[9] In October of that same year, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Royal Crown from Triarc.[10]

Demerger

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 US drinks business.[11] The demerger took effect on 2 May 2008, with the drinks business becoming Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc.[3] Cadbury is selling its Australian beverage unit to Asahi Breweries.[12]

Recent developments

In October 2007, Cadbury announced the closure of the Keynsham chocolate factory, formerly part of Fry's. Between 500 and 700 jobs were affected by this change. Production transferred to other plants in England and Poland.[13]

In 2008 Monkhill Confectionery, the Own Label trading division of Cadbury Trebor Bassett (qv), was sold to Tangerine Confectionery for £58million cash. This sale included factories at Pontefract, Cleckheaton & York and a distribution centre near Chesterfield, and the transfer of around 800 employees.[14]

In mid-2009 Cadbury replaced some of the cocoa butter in their chocolate products with palm oil. Despite claiming this was a response to consumer demand to improve taste and texture, there was no "new improved recipe" claim placed on the label. Consumer backlash was significant from environmentalists and chocolate lovers. By August 2009, the company announced that it was reverting to the use of cocoa butter.[15] In addition, they would source cocoa beans through Fair Trade channels.[16]

On 7 September 2009 Kraft Foods made a £10.2 billion indicative takeover bid for Cadbury. The offer was rejected, with Cadbury claiming that it undervalued the company.[17] Kraft launched a formal, hostile bid for Cadbury valuing the firm at £9.8 billion on 9 November 2009.[18]

Hershey Co., the Pennsylvania chocolate company, could try to top Kraft’s bid for Cadbury, according to the Business Standard. About 85% of Hershey's sales come from the United States, and buying Cadbury would broaden Hershey’s access to faster-growing international markets. [19]

The prospect of a merger or aquisition of Cadbury has been the subject of a significant amount of opposition from British groups and organisations including trade union Unite.[20] , as well as notable opposition from the British people due to the percieved loss of jobs and the loss of a large British institution that is an integral part of the British economy. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson also warned Kraft not to try to "make a quick buck" from the acquisition of Cadbury. However, despite their reluctance, Cadbury was bought by Kraft on the 12th of January, 2010. [21]

Operations

United Kingdom

Main article: Cadbury UK

Cadbury plc also owns Trebor Bassett, Fry's, Maynards and Halls. The confectionery business in the UK is called Cadbury UK (formerly 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 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.

See also: Cadbury Ireland

United States

Main article: Cadbury Adams

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.[22] Ten years later Hershey's acquired the chocolate business from Cadbury's.[22] Accordingly, although the Cadbury group's chocolate products have been sold in the US since 1988 under the Cadbury name, the chocolate itself has been manufactured by Hershey's and can be found in Hershey's chocolate stores. Therefore, although some Cadbury products such as Whole Nut can be found in stores in the United States, the chocolate has a bitter taste compared to their counterparts sold in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] 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.[23]

Australasia

Cadbury also operate four Australasian confectionery factories; two in Melbourne, Victoria (Ringwood and Scoresby), one in Hobart, Tasmania (Claremont), and one in Dunedin, New Zealand. The Claremont factory was once a popular tourist attraction and operated daily tours; however the factory ceased running full tours mid-2008, citing health and safety reasons.[24] Cadbury Schweppes has been upgrading its manufacturing facility at Claremont, Tasmania, Australia, since 2001 [25]

Executive compensation

In 2008 Todd Stitzer, Cadbury's CEO, was paid a £2,665,000 bonus. Combined with his annual salary of £985,000 and other payments of £448,000 this gives a total remuneration of over £4 million.[26]

Accounting

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.[27]

Products

Main article: list of Cadbury products

Cadbury plc manufactures chocolates and sweets such as the popular Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Notable product introductions include:

Health and safety

2006 Salmonella scare

On 19 January 2006, Cadbury Schweppes detected a rare strain of the Salmonella bacteria, affecting seven of its products, said to have been caused by a leaking pipe. The leak occurred at its Marlbrook plant, in Herefordshire, which produces chocolate crumb mixture; the mixture is then transported to factories at Bournville and Somerdale to be turned into milk chocolate.[28]

Cadbury Schweppes did not officially notify the Food Standards Agency until 19 June 2006, shortly after which it recalled more than a million chocolate bars.[28]

In December 2006, the company announced that the cost of dealing with the contamination would reach £30 million.[29][30]

In April 2007, Birmingham City Council announced that it would be prosecuting Cadbury Schweppes in relation to three alleged offences of breaching health and safety legislation. An investigation being carried out at that time by Herefordshire Council led to a further six charges being brought.[29] The company pleaded guilty to all nine charges,[31][32] and was fined 1 million pounds at Birmingham Crown Court — the sentencing of both cases was brought together.[33] Analysts have said the fine is not material to the group, with mitigating factors limiting the fine being that the company quickly admitted its guilt and said it had been mistaken that the infection did not pose a threat to health.[33]

2007 recalls

On 10 February 2007, Cadbury announced they would be recalling a range of products due to a labelling error. The products were produced in a factory handling nuts, potential allergens, but this was not made clear on the packaging. As a precaution, all items were recalled.[34]

On 14 September 2007, Cadbury Schweppes investigated a manufacturing error over allergy warning, recalling for the second time in 2 years thousands of chocolate bars. A Printing mistake at Somerdale factory resulted in the omission of tree nut allergy labels from 250g Dairy Milk Double Chocolate bars.[35]

2008

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.[36] Products recalled included Dark Chocolate, a number of products in the 'Dairy Milk' range and Chocolate Éclairs.[37]

2009 Hydrogenation

Cadbury continues to use hydrogenated oils in many of its signature products. Although trans fats are present, the nutrition labels round down the values to zero.[38]

See also

Template:Companies portal

References

  1. ^ "Company Profile for Cadbury PLC (CBY)". Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  2. ^ Jones, Sarah (9 April 2009). "U.K. Stocks Fluctuate as Mining Shares Rally; Cadbury Declines". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  3. ^ a b "Cadbury plc Demerger" (Press release). Cadbury plc. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  4. ^ "Cadbury Plc Announces Board Changes and Expects Strong First Half Performance." Cadbury plc. 15 May 2008. Retrieved on 25 June 2009.
  5. ^ a b "The history of Cadbury Schweppes". Birminghamuk.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  6. ^ "George Cadbury's model village". Sciencedirect.com. 2002-05-22. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  7. ^ Bill Samuel. "Quaker information". Quakerinfo.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  8. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (1987-01-27). "General Cinema buys 8.3% of Cadbury Schweppes". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  9. ^ Holson, Laura M. (2000-09-18). "Cadbury to Pay $1.45 Billion For Snapple". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Royal Crown Cola Company". New Georgia Encyclopedia. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  11. ^ "Cadbury plans to split business" - BBC News, 14 March 2007.
  12. ^ "Cadbury to sell Australian drinks arm". Financial Times. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  13. ^ "Cadbury factories shed 700 jobs". BBC News. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  14. ^ Sweet deal as Tangerine buys Monkhill Yorkshire Post, 18 January 2008
  15. ^ [1] Cadbury Dairy Milk returns to Cocoa Butter only recipe — Official Press Release, August 2009
  16. ^ [2] Cadbury Dairy Milk to go Fairtrade in 2010 - Choclovers.com, August 2009
  17. ^ "Cadbury snubs £10.2bn Kraft move". BBC News. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
  18. ^ "Cadbury rejects hostile Kraft bid". BBC News. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  19. ^ [3] The Business Standard — JP Morgan, BofA gear up to fund Hershey's Cadbury bid
  20. ^ [4] Keep Cadbury Independent - UK and Irish workers unite to stop Kraft swallowing Cadbury
  21. ^ "Don't try to make a quick buck from Cadbury, Mandelson tells Kraft". The Guardian. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  22. ^ a b "Hersheys History". Hersheys.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  23. ^ "Motts Company History". Motts.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  24. ^ "Cadbury Chocolate Factory Hobart". Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  25. ^ "Cadbury Schweppes Confectionery Plant". Packaging Gateway. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  26. ^ "Todd Stitzer Profile". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  27. ^ "Cadbury Schweppes awards contract to Genpact". Scottgolas.typepad.com. 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  28. ^ a b Cadbury recall after health fears - BBC News, 23 June 2006.
  29. ^ a b Cadbury faces salmonella action - BBC News, 23 April 2007.
  30. ^ TimesOnline, Cadbury recalls thousands of chocolate bars after error over allergy warning[dead link]
  31. ^ Cadbury admits salmonella charges - BBC News, 15 June 2007.
  32. ^ Cadbury admits salmonella charges - BBC News, 3 July 2007.
  33. ^ a b Cadbury gets 1 mln pound salmonella fine - Yahoo! News, 16 July 2007.
  34. ^ Cadbury recall Easter eggs Daily Mail, 10 February 2007
  35. ^ Cadbury's recall dairy milk double choc bars Foods Standards Agency, 14 September 2007
  36. ^ "Cadbury Withdraws China Chocolate on Melamine Concern". Reuters. Flex News. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  37. ^ Ng Kang-chung, "Cadbury recalls 11 products after tests reveal melamine", Page A1, South China Morning Post (30 September 2008)
  38. ^ "Deadly fats: why are we still eating them?". The Independent. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-16.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cadbury&oldid=337566383"