|
|
At Cadbury Schweppes they are proud of a heritage whose origins go back more than 200 years. It was in 1783 that Jacob Schweppes perfected his process for manufacturing carbonated mineral water in Geneva, Switzerland. John Cadbury opened in Birmingham in the UK in 1824. Originally selling tea and coffee, it was, however, his marginal lines of cocoa and chocolate that, in just a few years, took over as the mainstay of the business and started the Cadbury success story. A merger of two great British household names formed Cadbury Schweppes in 1969. Since then they have expanded the business throughout the world by a programme of organic and acquisition led growth. They took the strategic decision in the mid 1980s to concentrate on core international brands of beverages and confectionery and exit the general foods and hygiene sector with the sale of non-core brands such as Typhoo Tea, Kenco Coffee and Jeyes. Since then, they have strengthened their portfolio of key brands through the purchase of Mott's (1982), Canada Dry (1986), Trebor (1989), Bassett' (1989), Dr Pepper and Seven Up (1995) and Hawaiian Punch (1999). The new millennium has seen them continue to make acquisitions concentrating in interests in North America, Europe and the Asian Pacific regions. Snapple and Hollywood were acquired in 2000, and in 2001 they became number two in the soft drinks market in France with the acquisition of Orangina. In 2002 Cadbury Schweppes catapulted to joint number one position worldwide in confectionery and number two worldwide in chewing gum, first by buying Dandy, the Danish chewing gum company and, at the end of the year, announcing our proposed $4.2 billion acquisition of Adams. Drop a melted Cadbury chocolate bar on your favorite white shirt? Not to worry, Schweppes club soda will get it right out. A leading global confectioner, Cadbury Schweppes is also the world's #3 soft-drink producer, after The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Its beverage brands are sold mainly in North America and Western Europe and include 7 UP (US only), A&W Root Beer, Canada Dry, Dr Pepper, and Hawaiian Punch.
|
