Cadbury could get smaller after Brexit

Cadbury warned that it may have to make chocolates smaller or raise their prices after Brexit. Meanwhile, it assured that UK will remain to be the “home of chocolate manufacturing” as the company does not have any plans to leave the country.

Glenn Caton, who is in charge of Cadbury in Britain, explained through the Guardian that the company would need to adapt to the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union. He said the primary focus would be to boost productivity.

Eventually, Cadbury may have to pass on higher costs to customers by shrinkflation, which means they will sell their product for the same price but would be smaller. Another option is raising its price.

These changes must happen in order to protect the quality and taste of its chocolate. “Cadbury would always put the consumer at the heart and never compromise on quality and taste,” Caton assured.

Caton is also the president of the northern Europe division of Mondelēz International, the US owner of Cadbury. In 2010, the firm was bought by Kraft which divided it into two companies. One business opted to keep the Kraft name and focused on US groceries, which included its cheese products. The other one was given a new name, Mondelēz. It owns confectionery and snacks brands, such as Cadbury, Toblerone and Oreo.

Previously, Mondelēz has come under fire after it modified the shape of Toblerone and increased the space between the chocolate triangles, resulting to less chocolate. The price of Freddo chocolate bars was also increased by 20 percent.

But Caton has maintained that Mondelēz is good for Cadbury. “I passionately believe we are fantastic guardians of the legacy of Cadbury and all of our other brands, and we are great owners of this business,” the Guardian quotes him saying.

Caton, who became part of Mondelēz in July 2013, said investing in Cadbury paid off, pointing that productivity and competitiveness have improved. He also noted that ten years ago, it was costing roughly three times as much to make chocolate in the UK as it was in Germany. “It required investment in order to make sure that we increased productivity and were competitive globally, and we are now,” he said.

He assured that UK will remain to be a huge market, the home of chocolate manufacturing, global research and development. He said all businesses would be benefited if the UK economy is thriving.