Mondelēz to invest £15m in UK's Bournville site, the home of Cadbury

The makers of Cadbury Dairy Milk, BelVita, Maynard’s Bassetts and OREO said the investment will include £11m to create a new line of the future for Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets as the company consolidates the majority of its tablet production at the site.

Along with the new line, Mondelēz said it is also planning to invest a further £4m at the site to increase its chocolate making capacity, to ensure sufficient chocolate mass to meet current demand and anticipate future needs.

Louise Stigant, UK Managing Director, Mondelēz International, said: “At a time when manufacturing in the UK is facing significant challenges, it has never been more vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our business. We now have an opportunity at Bournville to further invest in its future as the home and heart of Cadbury by bringing more Cadbury Dairy Milk production to Bournville.​

“This investment will continue the modernising of our production processes at Bournville and ensure we are meeting the need for a highly efficient and robust supply infrastructure for our iconic Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets.”​

£80m of investment

The global snacking giant said its latest commitment follows more than £80m of investment since 2014 to modernise the Bournville factory and drive efficiencies.

The Bournville site opened in 1879 after George and Richard Cadbury moved manufacturing from the centre of Birmingham. The company was bought by Kraft Foods in 2010 and Mondelēz International was created when Kraft demerged its grocery business in 2011.

It said that five years ago, production costs at Bournville were three time more than those of similar factories in Germany and other European markets. As a result of investment at the site, production efficiency has increased by more than 30% since 2014, Mondelēz claimed.

Global Centre of Excellence 

Bournville is also home to the company’s Global Centre of Excellence for Chocolate research and development, including its innovation kitchen where all Cadbury products across the globe are invented.

Roberto Gambaccini, Bournville Manufacturing Director, Mondelēz International, said: “Today, thanks to our investments over the last seven years and our colleagues’ commitment to improving productivity, Bournville is now much more competitive across our manufacturing network, particularly when it comes to producing high volume products such as Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets. It’s important that we continue this journey and this investment will see us take full advantage of the efficiencies that modernisation, and upskilling can create to continue the growth and success of the Bournville site​.”

Joe Clarke, Unite National Officer for food, drink and agriculture, said: “The announcement by Cadbury of a new line at the Bournville site to handle 12,000 tonnes per annum of additional chocolate, which equates to 125,000,000 Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, is a vote of confidence in the UK workforce​.”