To sweet-toothed Brits, Cadbury is more than just a brand. Its creamy milk chocolate oozes a 200-year history of homegrown manufacturing that left consumers horrified at the takeover by global conglomerate Kraft Foods in 2010. Six years on, were these fears justified? It’s a mixed bag, according to Dispatches: Secrets of Cadbury (C4, 20 March, 8pm).
Though the Bournville factory in Birmingham still manufactures classic Cadbury bars, production of some newer spin-offs has been shipped to Poland. There, workers churn out chocolate for as little as £2.35 per hour, claimed journalist Harry Wallop.
The move follows an estimated 700 job cuts here in the UK, largely due to the closure of the Somerdale factory in 2011. And then there’s the blunt tool with which to beat all corporate giants - tax. Mondelez hasn’t paid a penny to the HMRC, avoiding an estimated £24m per year, claimed the show, though Mondelez “didn’t recognise” these figures.
But if that leaves a bitter taste, there’s Kraft’s £75m investment in a new production line at Bournville. It can now produce 1.2 million Creme Eggs in 24 hours, while its R&D lab has seen a 900% surge in ‘inventors’, making it the global HQ for chocolate invention.
Sadly, no investment will be enough to win back Brits who feel Cadbury lost its identity the second it sold out to Kraft in 2010, illustrating the biggest pitfall of creating a product that’s more than just a brand. Namely that consumers feel betrayed when it starts acting like just another business.
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