Business
Did You Know: Your Favourite Chocolate Exists Because Its Founder Hated Alcohol
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The founder of Dairy Milk, John Cadbury, was a staunch opposer of alcohol who believed that cocoa-based drinks could offer a healthier substitute
The defining moment in Cadbury’s history arrived in 1905 with the launch of Dairy Milk chocolate.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the celebrations begin well in advance, and February 9 is marked as Chocolate Day. For many, the very thought of chocolate instantly brings Cadbury Dairy Milk to mind. As millions exchange the iconic purple bar with friends and loved ones, few pause to consider the long and fascinating journey behind one of the world’s most recognisable chocolate brands.
Cadbury, today the world’s largest chocolate company and a part of Mondelez International, traces its origins back nearly 200 years to the United Kingdom. Interestingly, the brand was born not out of indulgence, but as a moral alternative to alcohol.
The story began in 1824 on Bull Street in Birmingham, where John Cadbury opened a small grocery shop. At the time, there was a strong resistance in the UK against alcohol, and Cadbury was a staunch opposer of alcohol who believed that cocoa-based drinks could offer a healthier substitute.
At his stall, Cadbury sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate, preparing the cocoa himself using a mortar and pestle. The chocolate drink, promoted as a temperance beverage, quickly gained popularity. By 1831, growing demand pushed Cadbury to move from retail to manufacturing, and he acquired a warehouse to scale up production, with his sons George and Richard joining the business.
By the early 1840s, Cadbury was producing 11 varieties of cocoa and 16 kinds of drinking chocolate. In 1847, when John’s brother Benjamin joined the venture, the business was renamed Cadbury Brothers, and a factory was set up on Bridge Street. Recognition followed soon after. In 1854, Cadbury received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria, granting the company the honour of supplying chocolate to the British Royal Family.
The company faced turbulence in the 1860s when John Cadbury’s health declined, forcing him into retirement. Financial losses mounted, but his sons managed to turn the business around. A major breakthrough came in 1866 with the purchase of a cocoa press from the Netherlands, which enabled the extraction of pure cocoa butter. This innovation marked the introduction of unadulterated cocoa to Britain, replacing earlier mixtures that used flour or potato starch.
In 1879, Cadbury relocated its factory to Bournville, on the outskirts of Birmingham. The move was historic not just for the business, but for industrial welfare in the UK. The company built houses, schools, parks and hospitals for its workers, creating a model village with no pubs, reflecting the company’s anti-alcohol roots.
The defining moment in Cadbury’s history arrived in 1905 with the launch of Dairy Milk chocolate. Made with a significantly higher milk content, the bar went on to become the company’s most successful product and remains a bestseller more than a century later.
Cadbury continued to expand through the 20th century, entering partnerships and mergers, including a tie-up with JS Fry & Sons in 1919 and a merger with Schweppes in 1969 to form Cadbury Schweppes. In 2010, the company was acquired by Kraft Foods, now Mondelez International, in a £11.5 billion deal.
Over the years, Cadbury has also left a cultural imprint. It introduced the world’s first heart-shaped chocolate box in 1868, now synonymous with Valentine’s Day. Today, the company produces over 500 million chocolates annually and operates in more than 50 countries. In Birmingham, Cadbury World continues to draw over 6,00,000 visitors every year, offering a glimpse into the chocolate-making process.
In India, Cadbury Dairy Milk has become a household name, woven into celebrations, festivals and everyday moments.
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February 09, 2026, 20:39 IST
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MUMBAI/BENGALURU: The restaurant industry is struggling to run regular operations due to the meagre supplies of LPG cylinders . With the govt’s move to hike commercial LPG allocation to up to 70%, it will take some time before the measure actually translates into sustained supply, executives said. “Supply is still hugely limited and erratic. A feeling of uncertainty looms large,” said Anurag Katriar, founder at Indigo Hospitality. The key question is how quickly this revised allocation will translate into on-ground availability, said Pradeep Shetty, vice-president at Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).A walk along Indiranagar’s 12th Main, known for its cluster of independent restaurants, reflects the strain. “It is all hand-to-mouth at this point,” said Nikhil Gupta, who runs brands including The Pizza Bakery and Paris Panini . The move doesn’t directly help the restaurant sector which is still getting 20%-30% of LPG supplies, said Sagar Daryani, co-founder & CEO at Wow! Momo Foods and president at National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). State-wise, the supply situation varies with some such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan restricting allocation for restaurants, hurting the sector , Daryani said.
Motorists are facing higher fuel prices ahead of Easter break due to the conflict in the Middle East, the RAC says.
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E-cheques coming soon? RBI unveils Payments Vision 2028, plans wider oversight of digital players – The Times of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unveiled its ‘Payments Vision 2028’ document, outlining a roadmap that includes exploring electronic cheques, expanding regulatory oversight to digital platforms, and strengthening safeguards in the fast-growing payments ecosystem, PTI reported.The central bank said it will examine the introduction of e-cheques to combine the advantages of paper instruments with the speed and reliability of digital payments. “To leverage the unique benefits of paper-based instruments and the speed and reliability of electronic payments, and cater to new business use cases, the introduction of electronic cheques in India shall be explored,” the RBI said.Alongside, the RBI is considering widening the regulatory ambit to include entities such as e-commerce marketplaces and centralised platforms that play a growing role in facilitating digital transactions.“In addition, e-commerce marketplaces and centralized platforms have been assuming significant responsibilities that could have implications on the orderly functioning of the payments ecosystem. These aspects shall be examined in detail and, if required, the scope of direct regulations shall be extended to cover such entities,” the document said.The vision document also proposes allowing users to enable or disable transactions across digital payment modes, similar to controls available for card transactions.To address fraud risks, the RBI is exploring a “shared responsibility framework” under which both the issuing bank and the beneficiary bank would share liability in cases of unauthorised digital transactions.The central bank also plans to review cheque design and security features, introduce a Domestic Legal Entity Identifier (DLEI) framework for better transaction traceability, and bring in a Cyber Key Risk Indicators (KRI) framework for non-bank payment system operators.Other initiatives include exploring white-label solutions in the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), developing interoperability in the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System (TReDS), and introducing a ‘Payments Switching Service’ to ease customer migration across platforms.The RBI said it will also review the cross-border payments ecosystem to improve efficiency and streamline authorisation processes, alongside publishing periodic reports on global and domestic payment trends.Additionally, the central bank aims to enhance access to payment data and reimagine the card payments ecosystem by promoting secure tokenisation, improved transparency in pricing, and greater choice for users and merchants.
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