Is Cadbury still British?

It depends what you mean by British.

Born in Birmingham

Cadbury was founded in 1824 by John Cadbury, a Quaker who sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate from a shop in Bull Street, Birmingham. His sons built the factory at Bournville, which opened in 1879, and the company went on to give Britain Dairy Milk, Creme Eggs, Flake and Roses. For most of its life, Cadbury was a British company run by the Cadbury family and their successors.

Owned from America

That changed in 2010, when the American food giant Kraft Foods bought Cadbury for £11.5bn after a hostile takeover battle. In 2012 Kraft split in two, and Cadbury became part of Mondelez International, a snacks company based in Chicago that also owns brands such as Oreo and Toblerone. So the company that owns Cadbury today is American. See how Cadbury was sold to Kraft.

Still made in Britain

Much Cadbury chocolate is still made in Britain. Bournville, four miles south of Birmingham, is still at the heart of Cadbury, employing almost 1,000 people, and in 2014 Mondelez announced a £75m investment there. It is also home to Mondelez's global centre for chocolate research and development.

But not everything stayed. The Somerdale factory near Bristol closed in 2011 and its production moved to Poland, and some other lines have moved abroad too. See the Somerdale factory promise.

Not the same everywhere

Cadbury chocolate is not the same around the world. In the United States, Cadbury branded chocolate is made by Hershey under a licence dating back to 1988, and many British fans say it tastes quite different.

The royal warrant

In December 2024, Cadbury lost the royal warrant it had held since 1854. No reason was given: see why Cadbury lost its royal warrant.

So, is it British?

Cadbury is a British brand, born in Birmingham, still largely made in Britain, but owned by an American company. Many British sweet brands are in the same position: see who owns the famous British sweet makers now.

Download as PDF