Cadbury looks to the future with plant-based bars

The US-headquartered confectionery giant said it is hoping to tap into a new market by creating ‘healthier ‘chocolate bars.

Dirk van de Put, chief executive of Mondelez, told UK media: “It’s going to be a bit like diet drinks and grow very slowly, but we need to keep it on the market​

“It’s going to take a while before the consumer really takes to that because it still is not quite exactly the same taste - although it is getting close. It’s going to be a very slow build. We have to offer more healthy options, and we’re working hard for that.”​

Speaking during a visit to Cadbury’s Bournville factory in the Midlands, van de Put criticised UK anti-obesity laws, which include a “sugar tax” on soft drinks and a ban on unhealthy snacks at checkouts.

Brexit

He also said Britain has "become a more difficult place to do business​" since Brexit. “A big chunk of what produce in the UK, stays in the UK but we also export to Europe. With Brexit that has become complicated. We have to shift production around so the additional costs we have are quite big.”​

Mondelēz acquired Cadbury when Kraft Foods launched a hostile bid for the company in 2009. The company changed its name to Mondelēz International in 2012.

Bournville has been Cadbury’s main centre of manufacturing since 1870 and is also a heritage site and visitor attraction. The company was established in 1824 by John Cadbury, a Quaker, who, along with the Rowntree family in York, provided ‘model villages’ with cottages and houses for factory workers.