This article is part of our Confectionery Report 2015

It took two years of painstaking R&D until Cadbury’s biggest launch of the year was ready for the market, but it’s certainly made a splash since.

Dairy Milk Puddles have been lauded as one of the most successful launches of 2015. “It’s not often you see something completely new in this category but this really was innovative,” says Budgens impulse buyer John McGrath. “We launched both the smooth mint and hazelnut flavours and both are already selling really well.”

So just how big a splash have Puddles made? Why did it take so long to develop them? How does brand owner Mondelez manage to put the puddles in Puddles? And with Marvellous Creations, the company’s biggest launch of recent years, now suffering, how long can Puddles continue to grow? We sent category reports editor Rob Brown to Bournville to find out…