Cadbury's Creme Eggs
Why should an industrial area be squalid and depressing?
Key words
- Fondant: a thick, soft, sweet food, made mainly of sugar and used to cover cakes, or a small soft sweet made mainly from sugar
Dessert was chocolate fondant.
- Takeover: to get control of a company by buying enough of the shares in it
The company he works for has recently been taken over.
- Run-up: the final period of time before an important event
A similar campaign was launched in the run-up to Christmas.
- Green space: open areas reserved for parks and gardens, including plant life, and other types of natural environment.
The city is mainly a residential one with little green space.
- Capital expenditure: money that a company spends on land, buildings, and equipment that it uses to produce products and provide services
Capital expenditure on upgrades is expected to rise.
Read the article to find the answers
- What is Cadbury best known for?
- When are Cadbury's Creme Eggs available?
- How many Creme Eggs are produced in the run-up to Easter?
- What was Cadbury one of the first companies to introduce?
Cadbury
Founded in Birmingham in 1824 by John Cadbury, a Quaker, Cadbury is the second largest confectionery brand in the world, with operations in more than 50 countries. It is best known for its Dairy Milk chocolate and the Creme Egg, which is available every year between the 1st of January and Easter Sunday.
Chocolate eggs
Traditionally at Easter, people would give each other chicken eggs that had been hard boiled and painted in bright colours. Fry's took this tradition and added their own unique touch, by introducing the first chocolate Easter eggs in England in 1873. In 1923 they created the first fondant-filled chocolate eggs, imitating the white and yolk of a soft boiled egg. Fry's was a successful confectionery company until it was taken over by Cadbury's in 1935. Today, Cadbury's Bournville factory in Birmingham produces 1.5 million Creme Eggs every day in the run-up to Easter.
Bournville
Bournville is known as one of the most desirable areas to live in the UK; research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found it to be "one of the nicest places to live in Britain".
George Cadbury developed Bournville Estate, a model village designed to provide better living conditions for the company's workers. George wanted to create a place full of green spaces where Cadbury workers could leave the crowded, dirty city behind and enjoy a better quality of life. Originally, 30% of Cadbury's capital expenditure was spent on workers' welfare, something unheard of in Victorian times - as were holidays. Cadbury was one of the first companies to introduce a half-day off on Saturdays.
The Cadbury Report
The Cadbury Report is a code of best practice that has served as the basis for corporate governance reform around the world. The Cadbury Committee was established by the London Stock Exchange in 1991 and the report was published in 1992. Its recommendations have been used to establish other codes, including those of the European Union, the United States and the World Bank.
Discussion questions
- Do you have any questions about any of the vocabulary or grammar in this article?
- Who are the biggest food companies in your country?
- Is chocolate popular in your country?
- Do you celebrate Easter?
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