E.Wedel
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E. Wedel (pronunciation: ) is a Polish
confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
company, which has been producing a variety of chocolates, cakes, and snacks since 1851. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand of candy in Poland, considered to be the "Polish national chocolate brand" in that market, and is the leading candy brand among Polish producers with about 14% of the Polish market in 2005 and 11.7% in 2007. In June 2010 Kraft Foods Inc sold Wedel to
Lotte Group Lotte Corporation (or Lotte Group) is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte began its history on June 28, 1948, by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-ho in Tokyo. Shin expan ...
, a South Korean-Japanese conglomerate, as part of their enforced divestment program of certain parts of the
Cadbury plc Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
which it acquired in March 2010.


History

Founded in 1851 by Karl Ernst (Karol Ernest) Wedel (1813-1902), the company and its products became known in most of
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Eastern Europe. The logo of the company is based on Emil Wedel's signature. His son Emil Albert Fryderyk Wedel (1841-1919) apprenticed in candy and chocolate factories in Western Europe before inheriting and expanding his father's business. His descendant Jan Wedel (d. 1960), the last member of the Wedel family to own the company, was considered "the
Willy Wonka Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and its 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor ...
" of pre-war Poland. In 1894 the company moved its main factory to Szpitalna street in Warsaw. In 1930, during the time of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Jan Wedel opened a second factory in Praga, one of the most modern in the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
. The company was also known for its very generous social welfare policies. As one of the first in Europe, it had its own
crèche Crèche or creche (from Latin ''cripia'' "crib, cradle") may refer to: *Child care center, an organization of adults who take care of children in place of their parents *Nativity scene, a group of figures arranged to represent the birth of Jesus ...
, kindergarten, hospital and cafeteria, and rewarded its best employees with interest-free housing loans; its model was highly acclaimed by the Polish Socialist Party. Hence prior to World War II, Wedel became a successful private company, with shops in London and Paris Jan Wedel made plans for World War II, and the company managed to continue production during the first few years of the war; it also started producing basic foodstuffs such as bread for starving Warsaw, and was the site of the underground teaching.Historia Wedla
/ref> Despite the family's German ancestry Wedel refused to collaborate with the Germans, and did not sign the
Volksliste The Deutsche Volksliste (German People's List), a Nazi Party institution, aimed to classify inhabitants of Nazi-occupied territories (1939-1945) into categories of desirability according to criteria systematised by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich H ...
; increasingly this led to him and his employees being persecuted by the Nazis. The war devastated Poland and the company; the buildings at Warsaw were destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising. After the war, Wedel rebuilt the factory, only to have the communist government nationalize the company. The Wedel plant itself was renamed '22 Lipca' (22 July) after the Communist 'Independence Day' ( PKWN Manifesto), although even the communists chose to retain the Wedel brand name, with products bearing both the new and old logos (particularly as after 10 years of not using the logo, all attempts at exporting proved futile). The company was reprivatized in 1989 after the fall of communism in Poland. In 1991 it was bought by PepsiCo Foods and Beverages, at which time sales were about $50–$60 million. In 1995 sales exceeded $200 million. About 10% of the products are exported, primarily to the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. The Warsaw facility employed 1,100 workers in 1998.


Cadbury-Wedel Polska

Cadbury Schweppes made its initial investment in Poland in 1993, constructing a chocolate plant for its own products in
Bielany Wrocławskie Bielany Wrocławskie (german: Bettlern, in years 1945-46 ''Strzeżawin'') is a village in the administrative district of Council Gmina Kobierzyce, within Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was i ...
. In 1999, Cadbury bought E. Wedel and the factory in Praga, from PepsiCo for
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
76.5 million."PepsiCo sells Wedel's chocolate business" ''Candy Industry'', October 1, 1998
Retrieved on January 24, 2008.
The Praga factory was modernised in 2007, with investment in both new laboratories and office space, as well as a new production line for the brand's flagship product Ptasie Mleczko, a chocolate candy with a marshmallow like centre. In 2007, as part of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone, Cadbury-Wedel Polska started building a £100m chewing gum plant in Skarbimierz. It presently produces brands such as Trident, Stimorol, V6, and Hollywood. The company also acquired rights to an additional plot which in 2009 it started to develop as a new chocolate facility, which would take over production of brands previously made at the Somerdale Factory in
Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...
, Bristol from 2011. In 2008, Cadbury received the accolade of “Most Significant Investor in Poland” from the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. In recent years the company has also branched out, opening a series of chocolate shops based on pre-war tradition.


Lotte ownership

In March 2010 Kraft Foods Inc acquired
Cadbury plc Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
. The European Commission insisted that Wedel be sold in order for the takeover to go ahead as a combined Kraft/Cadbury-Wedel would have too large a share of the Polish confectionery market. To satisfy this demand Wedel was sold to Lotte of South Korea in June 2010. This was Lotte's first investment in Europe although they are the 3rd largest chewing gum maker in the world and a large player in the Asian confectionery market. Kraft Foods have kept the rights to the Cadbury, Halls, and other brands along with two plants manufacturing Cadbury products in Skarbimierz.


Popular products

* Ptasie mleczko - chocolate covered marshmallow * Mieszanka Wedlowska - assorted chocolate covered candy with a variety of fillings * Torcik Wedlowski - a large, circular, chocolate covered wafer with hand-made decorations * Pawełek - chocolate bar with a flavored filling that contains a small amount of alcohol * Krówka - individually wrapped milky cream fudge candy * Delicje Szampańskie - circular cookies with sponge base, mound of jam, and covered with chocolate (also known as Jaffa cakes)


See also

* Economy of Poland *
List of Polish companies Poland is a country located in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges (the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains) in the south. Since the fall of communism many major companies have been established in Pol ...


References

* Mieczysław Kozłowski, ''The Story of E. Wedel. How Poland’s Chocolate History was Made'', Kraków 2004.


External links

* Tiffany, Susan
Wedel meets the demands of a market-driven Poland
''Candy Industry'', Wednesday, May 1, 1996 * Tadeusz Władysław Świątek
Fabryka Cukierków i Czekolady "E. Wedel"
''Jednota'' 15 06 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedel, E. Manufacturing companies based in Warsaw Companies established in 1851 Companies formerly listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange Polish brands Polish chocolate companies Confectionery companies of Poland 1851 establishments in the Russian Empire Food and drink companies established in 1851 Wedel family