History of Cadbury
Cadbury - Social Pioneers
The Quaker influence
The Founding Of The Cadbury Business
History of Haribo
The early years
The first successes
The Thirties
The Founder of success
A new beginning
Continued expansion
HARIBO goes international
A continued success
History of Bristows of Devon
Following a life in the Confectionery Industry which included introducing Swiss milk chocolate to Great Britian in 1900, in February 1932, at the age of 66, Charles Bristow founded Bristow's of Devon in a part of the premises of John Cleave and Son Ltd of Crediton which was purchased for that purpose. Cleaves were chocolate and sugar confectioners established circa 1800. This business was the first acquisition of Bristow's of Devon shortly after its formation.
Also early in 1932, George Bristow, Charles' youngest son, returned to Crediton from South Africa and a career in shipping. He became responsible for building up the business, initially with butterscotch then other high boiled sweets, followed by toffee & finally fudge in 1959.
By virtue of growth, a new factory was built in 1950, then another in 1962, which has since been modernised and further buildings added.
Cameo of Edinburgh was acquired in 1992 as a Scottish distributor of confectionery.
The other two main South West confectionery companies, Pollards and Tucker's of Totnes, were acquired in 1993. Their Newton Abbot factory was closed in 1994 and all manufacturing centred at Bristow's, Lords Meadow, Crediton.
History of Cadbury
The Cadbury story is a fascinating study of industrial and social development, covering well over a century and a half. It shows how a small family business developed into an international company combining the most sophisticated technology with the highest standards of quality, technical skills and innovation
A one-man business, opened in 1824 by a young Quaker, John Cadbury, in Bull Street Birmingham, was to be the foundation of Cadbury Limited, now one of the world's largest chocolate producers. By 1831 the business had changed from a grocery shop and John Cadbury had become a manufacturer of drinking chocolate and cocoa, the start of the Cadbury manufacturing business as it is known today.
The leader in the UK confectionery market*, Cadbury Limited is the confectionery division of Cadbury Schweppes plc, a major force in the confectionery and soft drinks international market. Quality has been the focus of the Cadbury business from the very beginning, as generations have worked to produce chocolate with the taste, smoothness and snap characteristic of Cadbury chocolate.
This section features the entire history of Cadbury Limited: from humble roots in 1824 to a market leader in the UK confectionery market today. Follow the progress of the company through the years and find out about the brands, the factory and the history of the Cadbury Family. Choose a category of interest from the menu on the left and have fun exploring.
Cadbury - Social Pioneers
Cadbury is known for the social pioneering of its founders as much as it is for the production of chocolate, and the fascinating history of their social ethos and the way it helped to transform the lot of the working classes in the UK is outlined alongside the success story that is the Cadbury business.
Early history
The history of Cadbury as manufacturers of chocolate products in Birmingham dates back to the early part of the 19th century, when John Cadbury opened a shop in the centre of the city, trading as a coffee and tea dealer. Soon a new sideline was introduced - cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he prepared himself using a mortar and pestle. His lifelong involvement with the Temperance Society led him to provide tea, coffee and cocoa as an alternative to alcohol, believed to be one of the causes of so much misery and deprivation amongst working people in Britain at that time.
The Quaker influence
In the 19th century the Cadbury family were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers, one of the many non-conformist groups developed in the 17th century in protest against the formalism of the Established Church. Quakers held strong beliefs and ideals which carried into 'campaigns for justice, equality and social reform, putting an end to poverty and deprivation'.
As nonconformists, Quakers weren't allowed to enter the Universities, which in the 19th century were closely linked with the Established Church. So entry into the professions was impossible, and pacifist principles precluded the military as a career. Their energies and talents were therefore directed towards business, social reform and the transformation of social and industrial society in Victorian Britain.
Many Quaker families have made their mark on the British business scene - in addition to the Cadburys, the Frys of Bristol, Rowntrees and Terrys of York developed the confectionery business; Sampson Lloyd of Birmingham founded Lloyd's Bank; the Hanburys brought tinplate to Wales; and the Darbys of Coalbrooke were the founders of the British iron industry.
The Founding Of The Cadbury Business
The founding of the Cadbury business dates back to 1831 when John Cadbury first made cocoa products on a factory scale in an old malthouse in Crooked Lane, Birmingham.
In 1847 the business moved to larger premises in Bridge Street, which had its own private canal spur linking the factory via the Birmingham Navigation Canal to the major ports of Britain.
Business continued at the Bridge Street site for 32 years and by 1878 the workforce had expanded to 200, so more space was needed. This heralded the move to Bournville and the building of what is now one of the largest chocolate factories in the world.
John Cadbury retired in 1861 handing over the business to his eldest sons Richard and George. It is to their leadership that the success of the enterprise is owed as the company prospered.
History of Haribo
The early years
1893
Hans Riegel is born on 3 April in Friesdorf near Bonn, the son of Peter and Agnes Riegel. After leaving school, Hans Riegel trains as a confectioner and works for more than five years for Kleutgen & Meier. Further stages in his career include jobs at production plants in Neuss and Osnabrück. After the end of the First World War, Heinen, a company based in the Kessenich district of Bonn, is looking for a confectioner, and Hans Riegel becomes a partner in the business. The company name is changed to Heinen & Riegel.
1920
Hans Riegel goes his own way. On 13.12.1920, the firm of HARIBO is entered in the Bonn Commercial Register. Hans Riegel acquires a house in Bergstraße in Kessenich, where he sets up his first production plant.
1921
Hans Riegel marries Gertrud, who becomes his first co-worker in his young firm.
1922
Hans Riegel invents the “Dancing Bear”, the figure of a bear made from fruit gum, which later becomes world-famous as the HARIBO Goldbear.
1923
In 1923 HARIBO acquires its first car. Until then, Hans’s wife and colleague Gertrud had delivered each day’s batch of sweets by bicycle.
1923 - 1926
The Riegels’ son Hans is born, followed in 1924 by their daughter Anita and in 1926 by their son Paul.
The first successes
1925
Hans Hans Riegel begins to manufacture liquorice products. The first product was the liquorice stick, with the HARIBO logo stamped on it. It was followed by the Liquorice Wheel, which was later to become internationally famous, and many other liquorice delicacies.
1930
HARIBO now has about 160 employees. A sales organization made up of commercial agents ensures that all of Germany is supplied with HARIBO products.
The Thirties
HARIBO’s advertising slogan, which literally translates as “HARIBO makes children happy”, was created in the mid-30s.
1930 - 1933
The main building at the present-day production facility in Bonn is constructed
1935
At the end of the 20s, HARIBO had entered into its first business connection with a foreign company, establishing contact with Christian and Eckhof Hansen of “Sukkervarenfabrikker Danmark”. In 1935, together with Hans Riegel of Bonn, they found HARIBO LAKRIDS A/S in Copenhagen.
1939 - 1945
Just before the Second World War, HARIBO is a solid medium-sized business with approximately 400 employees. Then the war comes, and the demand is for tanks, not gummi bears. Business drops sharply, as a result in particular of an increasing shortage of raw materials. The company’s founding father Hans Riegel dies an untimely death aged 52. His wife Gertrud runs the firm in the immediate post-war period.
The Founder of success
The founder: Dr. Hans Riegel
1946
Hans Riegel junior was a POW during the war, and he returned from captivity in 1946. Together, he and his brother immediately set to work on rebuilding the family firm. In the following years, Hans Riegel earned a doctorate in business science at Bonn University with a dissertation on the role of sugar in world trade: thus providing a scientific demonstration of his great expertise in the sweets industry.
Dr. Hans Riegel also possesses an outstanding instinct for the right product at the right time, something that he has demonstrated over and over again in the company’s history. His innovative products are always in tune with contemporary trends.
To make sure that this success continues he has to keep up with the opinions and feelings of “his” target group. He devotes a great deal of effort to keeping up with the younger generation, watching children’s series and reading their magazines and comics. Dr. Riegel is also a big fan of the now hugely popular techno music. In his own words: “I love kids and I enjoy watching them. They are my customers, I have to know what sweets they enjoy, what they think, what language they speak”. This openness for everything new is one of the keys to the company’s success.
1994
In 1994, Dr. Riegel was awarded the Order of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1st Class, (Bundesverdienstkreuz) for his many services to society. The decisive factor was his social engagement in his hometown of Pech, and his great contributions to the promotion of sports. His own comment on the award was simply, “They were all things that I enjoyed doing, that I just did spontaneously”.
The younger son of Hans Riegel, the company’s original founder, has been responsible for production and engineering ever since 1946. He is the man who makes sure that the factory machines keep running. Paul Riegel is a very skilled engineer, and he has actually developed many of the machines used at the HARIBO factories himself. One of his most spectacular inventions was the liquorice wheels machine. Before he came up with this, the liquorice wheels all had to be rolled by hand.
When one visits the HARIBO factories in Bonn, Solingen or anywhere else, one immediately sees what matters most to Paul Riegel. Signs with the slogan “Quality Above All” hang in every production facility. Paul Riegel is well aware that good products are only way to achieve customer satisfaction, and that satisfied customers are the best advertising that
HARIBO can have.
Two of Paul Riegel’s sons and with them the third generation of the family is now moving onto the company stage. Hans-Guido Riegel, the younger son, is his father’s deputy, responsible for all aspects of production. Hans-Jürgen Riegel, has been successfully managing HARIBO France since 1989, in the capacity of chairman of the managing board of HARIBO Ricqles Zan. For many years, the jurist Hans-Arndt Riegel has also been working in the Administration Central in Bonn.
There is thus every chance that HARIBO’s delicious sweets will continue to make both children and adults happy for a long time to come.
A new beginning
1945
Reconstruction begins with approximately 30 employees. The production plant in Bonn is largely undamaged. The lack of raw materials poses major problems in the period immediately after the war.
1946
In 1946, brothers Hans and Paul Riegel return from prisoner of war camps and take over the company. The company is divided along lines which have stood the test of time until the present day: Hans Riegel takes over the commercial side of things, including marketing and sales, while his brother Paul manages the production division.
1957
The flourishing company expands; only five years after the war it has approximately 1 000 employees. In 1957, HARIBO takes over Godesberg company Kleutgen & Meier, where HARIBO’s founder Hans Riegel had his first job. It still sells fruit gums under the brand name Monarch.
1960
In the mid-60s, the advertising slogan “HARIBO makes children happy”
has the phrase “and adults too” added to it.
The English version is “Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of HARIBO”.
1961
HARIBO takes over Bonera Industrie en Handelsmaatschappij N.V. in Breda, the Netherlands. After a change in legal form, the company is now called HARIBO Nederland B.V.
1962
The first German television advertisements HARIBO advertises its products on German TV for the first time.
Continued expansion
1967
HARIBO acquires shares in French confectionery factory Lorette. The company is renamed HARIBO France S.A. The company’s headquarters are in Marseilles. In 1985 HARIBO acquires the company Ricqles Zan, which is located in the South of France. At the end of 1987, this company is merged with HARIBO France to create HARIBO RICQLES ZAN.
There are production sites in Marseilles, Uzès and Wattrelos (near Lille), which supply France and other southern European markets. Hans-Jürgen Riegel, the eldest son of Paul Riegel, has been chairman of the board of HARIBO Ricqles Zan since 1989.
1968
HARIBO acquires shares in Solingen company Dr. Hillers AG. In 1979 HARIBO takes over the remaining shares in the company. The company has been expanded in three separate phases since 1980, and now has a production plant with ultra-modern machines for producing all types of fruit gums, liquorice products and dental chewing gum.
1970
HARIBO acquires a majority shareholding in Bären-Schmidt, a traditional Franconian company which produces the popular German delicacies of gingerbread hearts, ‘domino’ chocolate biscuits and other long-life bakery products. It also produces fruit-gum products. The company is based in Mainbernheim in Lower Franconia.
1972
HARIBO acquires shares in Dunhills of Pontefract, in the North of England. The ancient English firm of Dunhills makes products including Pontefract cakes, a regional speciality. In 1994 HARIBO acquires all the remaining shares in Dunhills.
1976
HARIBO sets up a sales organization in Sweden, with its headquarters in Helsingborg.
1977
HARIBO sets up a sales organization in Austria. Following the acquisition of Panuli Bonbon Ges. m.b.H. of Linz in 1988, HARIBO commences production in Austria. Panuli, a traditional company which has been in existence since 1921, produces cakes, pastries and confectionery. The company is located in Linz on the Danube.
HARIBO goes international
1982
HARIBO crosses the pond. Its newly founded American company has its headquarters in an office block bought specially for this purpose in Baltimore, Maryland.
1983
HARIBO acquires Stella, based in Wattrelos (near Lille) in France.
1986
In 1900, Edmund Münster had acquired full ownership of the "Düsseldorfer Lakritzenwerk" (Düsseldorf Liquorice Factory), founded in 1898. In 1930 Edmund Münster acquired, from a foreign vendor, a licence to the MAOAM chewy sweet. In 1982 production moved from Düsseldorf to Neuss.
In 1986 HARIBO takes over Edmund Münster GmbH & Co. KG of Neuss, where the famous MAOAM chewy sweets, and other fruit-gum products, are produced.
1989
In 1989 HARIBO sets up a sales organization in Norway, based in Oslo.
1990er
In 1898 Oswald Stengel founded a confectionery, gingerbread and chocolate factory in Wilkau-Hasslau, and in 1949 his son sold it to the state of Saxony in eastern Germany. It became the WESA publicly owned confectionery factory. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, HARIBO becomes involved in the new eastern states of the Federal Republic and acquires the WESA confectionery factory.
1990
HARIBO acquires 100% of the shares in the Italian company SIDAS DOLCIARIA S.p.A. and founds HARIBO Italien S.p.A, based in the northern Italian city of Milan.
1991
This is the year when HARIBO starts to work with a German personality who brings it renewed fame in Germany. Charismatic top entertainer Thomas Gottschalk, whose popularity extends to all levels of German society, begins to advertise the Goldbears from Bonn (and other HARIBO products too, of course).
1992
HARIBO sets up a sales organization in Finland, with its headquarters in Helsinki.
1993
HARIBO takes over the famous Vademecum brand, which comprises dental chewing gums and cough sweets.
A continued success
1995
Following the founding of a HARIBO marketing company in Spain in 1985, the confectionery producer from Bonn now opens a production centre in Spain.
The greater competitiveness and proximity to the consumer afforded were decisive factors in taking this step. In future, this site, under the aegis of Hans-Jürgen Riegel, will supply the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
1996
HARIBO opens the Musée du Bonbon in Uzès in France, which tells the story of the production of sweets, liquorice and fruit gums which is, of course, to a large extent the story of HARIBO itself to interested members of the public.
HARIBO takes over Belgian company Dulcia and begins to build up a consistent brand for a whole range of marshmallow products.
1998
HARIBO opens a new production company in Dublin, Ireland, thus ensuring greater proximity to the consumer here too. In addition, this relieves the strain on the capacity of the works in England.
HARIBO begins to use new media. You can now use the Internet to keep up to date with the latest developments at HARIBO twenty-four hours a day, wherever you are in the world.
In the middle of June, HARIBO takes over Spanish confectionery producer Geldul S.L. in Alicante, thus providing a second pillar for the Spanish operation, in addition to the production centre in northern Spain.
The eastern European markets are becoming ever more important. HARIBO opens a sales office in the Czech Republic, based in Brno. The eastern European markets are becoming ever more important. HARIBO opens a sales office in the Czech Republic, based in Brno.
2000
On 20.08.2000, construction work commences on a production centre in Hungary. This will be the headquarters for the battle to expand the eastern European markets.
HARIBO buys Dutch confectionery manufacturer Hoepman, based in Hoogezand in the province of Groningen. The company produces liquorice and hard and soft foam items, and thus provides an outstanding addition to HARIBO’s product portfolio.
2001
HARIBO takes over Turkish fruit-gum and foam-sugar manufacturer Pamir Gida Sanayi A.S. This acquisition opens up new sales areas for HARIBO: the Arabic region, Turkey and the Muslim regions of the former USSR.
2002
The world-famous HARIBO Goldbear celebrates his 80th birthday. For the generations who have grown up with him, he has become a symbol of the fruit gum.
2003
HARIBO opens a sales office in Russia, based in Moscow.
