Cadbury, otherwise known as Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational company that operates in the industry of confectionery. The UK headquartered company is the second-largest confectionery in the world which operates in more than 50 countries all over the world. The brand has garnered the remark of being an affordable luxury.
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Who owns Cadbury?
Cadbury was founded by John Cadbury in the year 1824 in Birmingham, England who used to sell beverages like Coffee, Tea and drinking chocolate. The business was developed by Cadbury along with his brother Benjamin which was later taken over by his sons George and Richard.
One of the company’s products called Dairy Milk which was introduced in the year 1905 became the best selling product by 1914 amongst its competitors. The chocolate bar owes this success to the usage of high proportions of milk that made its quality exceptional than its rivals. Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has been a nostalgia for most of the kids due to its deliciously rich flavour.
The company is currently owned by Mondelēz International, a holding company of firms operating in confectionery, food and beverages in which Cadbury is a subsidiary. The company is headquartered in Chicago, United States of America.
The company was merged with Schweppes, a drinks company in the year 1969 and called Cadbury Schweppes which was demerged in the year 2008 into two separate business entities for confectionery and US drinks respectively.
Website
The company delivers their chocolates at the customers’ doorstep to swerve their cravings through its website. The company’s website allows the customer to opt for a pre-designed chocolate sleeve for popular occasions such as Weddings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Corporate functions, Valentine’s Day, Christmas Gifts, Secret Santa Gifts, New year Gifts, Rakhi Gifts, Diwali Gifts. The four types of chocolates include Cadbury, Cadbury Silk, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cadbury Celebrations which can be chosen for customization.
Personalization of gifts
With the changing trend of gifting style, the idea of personalised gifts has become more popular. Personalised gifts double the joy of the occasion and make it a memorable one. Based upon customers’ budget and preference the company offers an array of choices that promises premium quality. The various personalised gifts included a Birthday Celebration Box for birthdays and also personalised gifts for sister, kids, spouse etc.,
Cadbury products
The 200 old company is a producer of numerous products such as Chocolate Bars, Beverages, Desserts, Cookies, Ice creams, Spreads, Multipacks and many more
Advertising and promotion
The logo of the company is taken from William Cadbury’s signature and it is adopted all over the world.
Controversies
However popular and accepted the brand is, it still had to go through periods of criticism one of which was reported in Maharashtra in India in 2003 when some worms are found inside Cadbury’s most popular chocolate bar Dairy Milk to which Cadbury responded that the worm infestations aren’t possible at the manufacturing stage and the poor storage at the retailers might be the reason for it.
The then FDA commissioner, Uttam Khobragade didn’t accept that reason provided by Cadbury and that led to the heat of arguments and allegations between the brand and the FDA.
This led to a downfall in the sales by 30 per cent.
The company subsequently launched a product education initiative for 190,000 retailers in the States where there is a maximum business under the brand. Also, the company changed its packaging into a metallic poly-flow by investing 150 million which significantly increased its prices.
Business Model
Cadbury follows a concrete mix of various aspects like customers’ psychology, behaviour, age, financial status, demographics etc. They have chocolates for customers who are willing to pay more, for those who have a sweet tooth and can’t resist chocolates. Also, Cadbury makes sure its products are diversified as it has a huge market domestically and internationally.
Extensive distribution
One of the competitive advantages Cadbury has is its distribution range. Cadbury sells its products in small stores as well as large departmental stores, they make their products available in rural and urban regions which make its distribution extensive. The brand equally addresses the needs of an impulse purchaser to mature customers.
It uses strategies such as Choose Cadbury to encourage its sales and letting the customer know that there is a chocolate bar for every occasion. Cadbury applies a Cost-plus pricing strategy to maximise its profits and positioning pricing according to the demand size. It also uses methods like polling to arrive at an optimal price that is acceptable to most consumers.
Wrapping up
To read more interesting business models, refer to Zeen blog.
