Cadbury World is a visitor attraction in

Bournville Bournville () is a 19th century model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alc ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, featuring a self-guided exhibition tour, created and run by the

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

Company. The tour tells the

history of chocolate The history of chocolate dates back more than 5,000 years, when the Theobroma cacao, cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador. Soon after domestication, the tree was introduced to Mesoamerica, where cacao drinks gained ...

, and of the Cadbury business. A second location in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand, closed in May 2018.

Birmingham

Overview

Cadbury's planning for a new chocolate-based attraction commenced in 1988, with the Bournville site decided upon. Cadbury World was opened on 14 August 1990 by Morgan Anderson on Cadbury's

manufacturing site at a cost of £6 million. The attraction has expanded and developed its content through 'continuous improvement'. It was formally opened by then Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

on 12 April 1991. Cadbury World has gone on to become one of Birmingham's largest leisure attractions. Over 500,000 people visit there each year especially children and students. The estate features a respected education programme (linking back directly to the educational advancements and interests of the company's original founders). Cadbury World provides a Chocolate

afternoon tea Tea is an umbrella term for several different meals consisting of food accompanied by tea to drink. The English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of various kinds an ...

. Whilst not a factory tour, Cadbury World offers its visitors the opportunity to explore and discover chocolate's history, and to learn about the origins and story of the Cadbury business, which is now part of

Mondelez Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26.5 billion and operates in approximately 160 countr ...

, the world's second largest

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

manufacturer. In 2022, it was announced that

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

were to take over the running of the attraction, subject to the approval of the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair beh ...

Fourteen Zones

Cadbury World features 14 zones which tell the story of chocolate and the Cadbury business through various static sets, animatronics, video presentations, multi-sensory cinema, interactive displays and activities, and staff demonstrations. In August 2019, Heritage Interactive installed seven interactive panels in the Aztec Jungle. These zones also include "The

Experience" (Opened in 2007 replacing the Cadbury Collection Museum), which explains the background to the development of the site on which it is located and "4D Chocolate Adventure", constructed in 2014 and replacing "Essence" which in turn replaced "Cadburyland" before it, and which incorporates a 3D cinema.

Dunedin

In July 2003 another Cadbury World was opened in

, New Zealand, located in the

Factory site at 280 Cumberland St, close to the city centre near

the Octagon The Octagon may refer to: *The Octagon, Christchurch, a former church in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand *The Octagon, Dunedin, the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand *The Octagon (Egypt), the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of ...

. Unlike the Cadbury World in Birmingham, it offered guided tours around the manufacturing area of the factory. In 2018, the factory closed. Despite plans to keep it open, Cadbury World was also closed that year, to make way for a new NZ$1.4 billion hospital to replace the existing

Dunedin Hospital Dunedin Hospital is the main public hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. It serves as the major base hospital for the Otago and Southland regions with a potential catchment radius of roughly 300 kilometres, and a population catchment of around 330 ...

. Mondelez vice-president Banfield confirmed that the former Cadbury site had been sold to the Ministry of Health for an undisclosed amount. It was reported that the closure of Cadbury World would lead to the loss of 39 jobs. During the demolition, business records from Hudson & Co from 1899 to 1988 were discovered in a cupboard. Hudson & Co amalgamated with Cadbury Fry in 1929.

References

External links