Wealthy Quaker John Cadbury started the company in 1824 with a shop selling chocolate-based drinks - his sons took the business into the big time building the Bournville development some 45 years later.
Cadbury began making milk chocolate in 1897 and Dairy Milk in 1905. The company made its first major takeover in 1921 buying rival Fry - another landmark soon followed with production of its first filled egg product in 1923.
As Quakers, the Cadbury family cared about the well-being of its staff, setting new standards for working and living conditions in Victorian Britain. By the mid-1930s, more than 100 acres around the Bournville factory were devoted to recreation.
When Cadbury bought the drinks firm Schweppes in 1969 it became a powerful force in the global food industry. It sold its drinks interest - now the Dr Pepper Snapple Company - in 2008.
Some fear that the latest chapter in its history, the planned takeover by Toblerone-makers Kraft, will lead to thousands of jobs being lost in the UK.
What are these?
BBC NEWS CHANNEL
E-mail this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these?