Cadbury Factory

Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company established in Birmingham, England in 1824 by John Cadbury who sold tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate. Today, it is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars, known by many for its egg shaped chocolates which make up a significant portion of the Easter confectionary market.

John Cadbury made his first “French eating Chocolate” in 1842, but it was not until 1875 that the first Cadbury Easter Eggs were made. The earliest Cadbury chocolate eggs were made of dark chocolate with a plain smooth surface and were filled with sugared almonds. The earliest “decorated eggs” were plain shells enhanced by chocolate piping and marzipan flowers.

While filled eggs were first manufactured by the Cadbury Brothers in 1923, the Creme Egg in its current form was introduced in 1963. Initially sold as Fry’s Creme Eggs (incorporating the Fry’s brand), they were renamed “Cadbury’s Creme Eggs” in 1971.

Principles of chocolate Easter Egg manufacturing haven’t changed greatly over the years. The earliest Easter eggs were whole shells rather than the half shells manufactured today.

To cater for demand, at the Bournville factory in Birmingham, they are manufactured at a rate of 1.5 million per day. However, in 2016 sales plummeted after the controversial decision to change the recipe from the original Dairy Milk chocolate to a cheaper substitute.