Cadbury Dairy Milk facts for kids
A Dairy Milk Caramel bar in its foil wrapper
|
|
| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Owner | Cadbury |
| Country | Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Introduced | June 1905 |
| Related brands | List of Cadbury products |
| Markets | Worldwide |
Cadbury Dairy Milk is a famous type of milk chocolate made by Cadbury. It was first created in the United Kingdom in June 1905. Today, there are many different products in the Dairy Milk family.
Every chocolate bar in the Dairy Milk range is made only with milk chocolate. In 1928, Cadbury started using the well-known "glass and a half" slogan. This slogan helped show that the chocolate bar had a lot of milk in it.
The chocolate bar was invented by George Cadbury Jr. By 1914, it was already the company's most popular product. Even a century later, it is still a top chocolate bar in the UK. In 2014, it was the best-selling chocolate bar there. Cadbury Dairy Milk is sold in many countries around the world. These include China, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Contents
History of Cadbury Dairy Milk
.jpg)
How Dairy Milk Started
In June 1905, in Birmingham, England, George Cadbury Jr made the first Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. It had more milk than other chocolate bars at the time. By 1914, it became Cadbury's best-selling product.
Before it was called Dairy Milk, the bar had other names. Some ideas were 'Highland Milk', 'Jersey', and 'Dairy Maid'. People have different stories about how the name 'Dairy Milk' was chosen. One story says a shopkeeper in Plymouth suggested it. Cadbury, however, says a customer's daughter came up with the name.
New Flavors and Popularity
In 1926, the Fruit and Nut bar was added to the Dairy Milk family. The Whole Nut bar, with hazelnuts, followed in 1930. By then, Cadbury was the leading chocolate brand in the United Kingdom. It has kept this top spot for almost a century. In 2014, Dairy Milk was still the best-selling chocolate bar in the UK.
In 1928, Cadbury started using the "glass and a half" slogan. This was to show how much milk was in each Dairy Milk bar. In the early 2010s, Cadbury changed the shape of the chocolate chunks. They became more circular, and the bar's weight also changed.
Expanding the Dairy Milk Family
In 2003, Cadbury added many new flavors and types to the Dairy Milk brand. This made it the biggest product range in Cadbury's history. Some of the new products included Biscuit, Crunchie Bits, Bubbly, and Mint Chips. The Cadbury's Caramel bar was also relaunched under the Dairy Milk brand.
In 2005, Cadbury celebrated 100 years of Dairy Milk. They released a special bar with the original 1905 packaging. Also in 2005, Cadbury buried a time capsule at their factory in Bournville. They asked people what they should put inside for future generations. The capsule will be opened when Dairy Milk turns 200 years old.
The Famous Purple Color
In 2012, Cadbury won a legal case in the United Kingdom. They wanted to protect the special purple color (Pantone 2685C) of their chocolate bar wrappers. This color was first used in 1914 to honor Queen Victoria. However, in 2013, another company, Nestlé, successfully challenged Cadbury's claim to the color.
Newer Changes and Celebrations
In July 2018, Cadbury announced a new Dairy Milk version with 30% less sugar. This was part of an effort to offer "healthier" products.
On January 8, 2024, Mondelez International (the company that owns Cadbury) announced plans to celebrate Cadbury's 200th anniversary. As part of this, seven special limited edition Dairy Milk bars were released. They had old packaging designs from different years, like 1915, 1940, and 2003.
Different Kinds of Dairy Milk
The first Dairy Milk bar, with its "glass and a half of fresh milk," came out in 1905.
Today, there are many different Dairy Milk bars. Some popular ones include:
- Caramel
- Fruit & Nut (with raisins and almonds)
- Whole Nut (with hazelnuts)
- Dairy Milk Silk (launched in India)
- Dairy Milk Ritz (with salty Ritz crackers)
- Dairy Milk with LU biscuits
- Dairy Milk Oreo (with an Oreo filling, also in mint flavor)
In 2015, a special Vegemite flavored bar was launched in Australia. It had milk chocolate, caramel, and a bit of Vegemite.
Ingredients and Tastes Around the World
The taste of Cadbury Dairy Milk can be a little different depending on where you buy it. For example, a British Dairy Milk bar has milk, sugar, cocoa mass, and cocoa butter as its main ingredients. The American version, made by Hershey, starts its ingredient list with sugar.
Cadbury tries to make its chocolate taste like what local people are used to. This means the chocolate might taste slightly different in the US compared to the UK.
Advertising Campaigns
Classic Advertisements
Cadbury has always wanted people to think of milk when they think of Dairy Milk. Slogans like "a glass and a half of full cream milk" were used. Advertisements often showed milk pouring out and forming the chocolate bar.
In the 1970s, Cadbury's Fruit & Nut was advertised with a funny TV commercial. It featured a humorist named Frank Muir singing "Everyone's a fruit and nutcase."
In Australia, starting in 1981, physics professor Julius Sumner Miller appeared in Cadbury Dairy Milk ads. He would show a science experiment and then talk about how the chocolate had "a glass and a half of full-cream dairy milk."
.jpg)
Glass and a Half Full Productions (2007–2011)
In 2007, Cadbury started a new advertising campaign called Gorilla. This ad showed a gorilla playing drums to the song "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. It became very famous.
In 2008, another ad called 'Trucks' came out. It showed trucks racing on an airport runway to the song "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen.
In January 2009, the 'Eyebrows' ad was released. It featured two children moving their eyebrows quickly to music. These ads were all part of the "Glass and a Half Full Productions" series.
Joyville and Free The Joy (2012–2014)
From 2012 to 2014, the "Joyville" campaign focused on bringing joy to people. Chocolate fountains were set up in shopping centers. The first ad for this campaign was about the new Dairy Milk Bubbly bar. During this time, new flavors like Toffee Popcorn and Golden Biscuit Crunch were launched.
In 2014, "Joyville" was replaced by the "Free The Joy" campaign. A TV ad for this campaign used the song "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". New designs for Dairy Milk bars encouraged people to scan a code to find "Free The Joy" moments online.
Marketing in India
In India, Cadbury Dairy Milk has had very successful advertising. One campaign used India's love for cricket. This ad was called one of the best advertisements made in India.
Another popular campaign was the 'Shubh Aarambh' Campaign. This campaign used the Indian tradition of eating something sweet before important events. This helped make Cadbury Dairy Milk a part of family life. Today, Cadbury holds a large share of the chocolate market in India.
Common Advertising Ideas
Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisements often share similar ideas. They focus on themes like generosity, love, family, and sweetness. A campaign started in January 2025 called "Made To Share" gave a creative twist to sharing a chocolate bar. The packaging was divided into uneven pieces, and each piece had a label suggesting who should get it based on their contributions.
Product Safety Checks
Cadbury has had to do product safety checks in the past. In 2007, some products were found to have safety concerns at a factory in Marlbrook, England. Cadbury spent a lot of money to make sure the factory was safe again.
Also in 2007, Cadbury had to recall some chocolate bars because of a printing mistake. The labels on some 250g Dairy Milk Double Chocolate bars did not include warnings for nut allergies.
In 2008, some Cadbury Dairy Milk made in mainland China had safety issues. This was part of a larger problem with milk products in China at the time.
Cool Facts About Cadbury Dairy Milk
- The solid chocolate in Dairy Milk bars was found by accident! John Cadbury was trying to find ways to use up extra cocoa butter.
- People in the UK often like their version of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars more than the ones made in the US.
- British Cadbury was not allowed to be sold in the US in 2015 for a while.
- Cadbury was one of the first companies to use heart-shaped boxes for chocolates.
- During World War II in 1941, the British government stopped fresh milk from being used for chocolate. So, Cadbury stopped making Dairy Milk bars and instead made "ration chocolate" from dried milk powder.
- Roald Dahl, the famous author who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, used to be a taste tester for Cadbury!
- About 350 bars of Dairy Milk are sold every year.
- Cadbury was one of the first companies to close its business on bank holidays, giving its workers a break.
See also
