Cadbury Case Study

Introduction

Cadbury has a long history dating back over 200 years to its roots in 1824, to a world leader of confectionary.  Cadbury is recognisable as a strong brand and market leader in chocolate. The company was started in 1824 by a young Quaker, John Cadbury who started the business as tea and coffee purveyor. As in the Quaker tradition, Cadbury was founded on strong values and a powerful virtue of social responsibility which can be still found in operation and are deeply ingrained in the company's ethos to this day. John Cadbury started the process in the back room of his shop with cocoa which he hand ground with a mortar and pestle, which has progressed in the company it is today with the belief that 'doing good is good for business.' Cadbury has three kinds of confectionary, gum, candy and more famously chocolate. The company now operates in over 60 countries with a workforce of over 50,000 people. The organisation works with around about 35,000 suppliers both directly and indirectly. Everyday millions of people enjoy the Cadbury brand. Cadbury has established itself in all sectors of its primary market – chocolate. With a product portfolio ranging from luxury items such as Éclairs, Dairy Milk and Flake to seasonal products such as Crème Eggs to household children's brands Milk Chocolate Buttons and Fudge to the return of classics such as the Wispa bar as well as variations of old classics such as Flake Dipped and Heroes selection tins.

Reasons for Success

The key reasons for Cadburys success is the company's enduring and sustained key product lines such as Cadburys Milk Tray and the heritage which goes with that name. Milk Tray is synonymous with quality, luxury and decadence and the series of famous advertisements that have spanned numerous decades and been viewed by more than one generation of consumer. This sort of product recognition a main contributing factor makes up the image of Cadburys. Another reason for Cadburys continued growth and progression has been its success in entering other aspects of the confectionary market i.e. gum, the single fastest growing item of confectionary in the marketplace. This currently accounts for 29% of the company's revenue.

Threats and Problems

In today's society, health and in turn healthy eating plays a major part in the structuring of a lot of consumer base buying decisions and corporate marketing plans. This involves Government policy on children's dietary habits, the classic 5 a day dietary requirements and more or less every magazine or dietary book on the market aim to provide an outline for healthier eating and social being. Cadburys as a major purveyor of chocolate may be affected in the long term as people seek to readjust their eating habits, they seek to eliminate perceived treats and indulgences which for many would be chocolate. For Cadburys to remain competitive they have to seek a marketing strategy in line with a range of products that fit in with these social perceptions through low fat option ingredients and also promote and show that these indulgences can be part of a healthy dietary lifestyle.