You may well remember there was a bit of a Hoo-Ha last year when Mondelez, the US owners of Cadbury’s, quietly announced that Cadbury’s Dairy Milk production was being moved to Poland. The problems started back in 2010 when Cadbury’s was bought by Kraft Foods from the USA. Almost as soon as the ink was dry on the deal Kraft announced the closure of the Bristol Cadbury’s factory and moved production there also to Poland.
Production of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bars had always been from the iconic “home of UK chocolate” Bournville, Cadbury’s original plant, although Mondelez North European President Glenn Caton has now explained the move as purely down to production logistics as the Bournville factory has apparently been running at maximum capacity for a decade and the move to Poland was simply to ensure continuity of supply.
Following a £75million production investment into the Bournville plant there is a commitment from Mondelez to now bring Britain’s favourite chocolate bar “home”. It could also be that it makes real commercial sense with the end of the UK’s EU membership less than two years away to be producing really popular traditional “home” products from a UK base. A real pity they were so hasty in shutting Bristol in 2010 but there you are.
Written by: Colin from KSV.