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Cadbury and the palm oil backlash in New Zealand
Cadbury said it was improving its chocolate. New Zealand's chocolate lovers and environmentalists said otherwise, and within weeks the old recipe was back.
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In the middle of 2009, Cadbury quietly changed the recipe of some of its chocolate sold outside the UK. It replaced some of the cocoa butter with palm oil. In New Zealand and Australia, people noticed.
What changed
Cocoa butter is the natural fat from the cocoa bean, and it gives chocolate its melt and its snap. Palm oil is much cheaper. Cadbury said the change was a response to consumer demand, to improve the taste and texture of its chocolate. But there was no new improved recipe claim on the labels in New Zealand, so many shoppers did not know anything had changed until they tasted it, or read about it.
The backlash
The reaction was fierce on two fronts. Chocolate lovers objected to the taste of what they saw as a cheaper recipe. Environmentalists objected to the palm oil itself, because growing it has been one of the biggest causes of rainforest destruction, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia. The two groups made a powerful combination.
The climbdown
By August 2009, Cadbury announced that it was going back to using cocoa butter. The whole episode, from quiet change to public reversal, took only a few months.
A sign of the times
The row came just before the much bigger 2010 Greenpeace campaign against Nestlé's KitKat, which also centred on palm oil and orangutan habitat: see KitKat, Greenpeace and the palm oil campaign. Together they showed that customers cared not just about how chocolate tasted, but about where its ingredients came from.
It was also a difficult year for Cadbury in other ways. A few weeks after the palm oil reversal, in September 2009, the American food giant Kraft launched its hostile bid for the company: see how Cadbury was sold to Kraft.
Palm oil today
Palm oil is still widely used in sweets and chocolate products, often in fillings, coatings and biscuit layers rather than in the chocolate itself. Many companies now buy palm oil certified as sustainable, although certification schemes have faced their own criticism. For how to spot it on a label, see palm oil in sweets.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Does Cadbury chocolate contain palm oil?
In 2009 Cadbury added palm oil to some non UK chocolate, including in New Zealand, but announced by August 2009 that it would go back to cocoa butter after a backlash. Check the current label for today's recipe.
Why did people object to Cadbury using palm oil?
Some disliked the taste of the cheaper recipe, and many objected to palm oil because of its role in destroying rainforests.
Did Cadbury tell customers about the change?
Cadbury said the change answered demand for better taste and texture, but no new improved recipe claim was put on New Zealand labels.
Sources
- Cadbury, Wikipedia
- Social and environmental impact of palm oil, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Sweet scandals and controversiesKitKat, Greenpeace and the palm oil campaignIn 2010 Greenpeace targeted KitKat over palm oil linked to the destruction of orangutan habitat in Indonesia. A viral video pushed Nestlé to change.
- Diet, allergens and labelsPalm oil in sweetsPalm oil turns up in some chocolate bars and sweets. It is efficient to grow but linked to deforestation. How it is labelled, and what certified means.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesHow Cadbury was sold to KraftIn 2010 the American food giant Kraft bought Cadbury for £11.5bn after a hostile bid. How a British institution was sold, and why it still stings.
- Questions people askIs Cadbury still British?Cadbury began in Birmingham in 1824 and still makes chocolate at Bournville, but it has been owned by the American group Mondelez International since 2010.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesThe Creme Egg recipe rowIn 2015 Cadbury changed the Creme Egg shell from Dairy Milk to a standard milk chocolate and cut packs from six eggs to five. Fans revolted and sales fell.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesWhy Cadbury lost its royal warrantIn December 2024 Cadbury lost the royal warrant it had held since Queen Victoria's day. The Palace gave no reason, but campaigners had pointed to Russia.