Cadbury Nigeria marks 60, despite hard business environment, grew from repackaging imported bulk products into a full manufacturing outfit

By allcitynews.ng

Cadbury Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Mondelēz International, one of the world’s largest snacking companies, on January 9, 2025, 225, marked 60 years of operation in the country despite harsh businessenvironment.

The Chairman, Cadbury Nigeria, Mr. Adedotun Sulaiman, who made this known explained that Cadbury Nigeria evolved from repackaging imported bulk products into a full manufacturing operation, to meet growing local demand.

According to Sulaiman, Cadbury Nigeria Limited was incorporated, January 9, 1965, and became a publicly listed entity on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), in 1976.

While commenting on this milestone, Sulaiman, said: “Cadbury Nigeria has come a long way from its humble beginnings to what it has become today. We are proud of our achievements in the last six decades. We know the journey has often been turbulent, but we will continue to demonstrate the resilience that we are known for and keep offering value to our shareholders.

“I express my sincere gratitude to all our employees, past and present, for believing in the vision of Cadbury Nigeria, and for making the Company a household name in Nigeria. I would also like to thank our suppliers, business partners, shareholders, and other stakeholders in the business, for their loyalty. Finally, I would like to especially thank the government for the immense support that we have enjoyed over the years.”

Likewise on his part, the Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria, Oyeyimika Adeboye, explained that although the Company currently operates in a challenging economic environment, it remains committed to delivering value for its stakeholders.

Adeboye added: “We understand what is required to operate in a volatile market like ours. We are agile, innovative, resilient, and extremely focused on operational excellence. As we celebrate our Diamond anniversary, we are reminded of what it takes to operate in this market and look forward to many more successful years in Nigeria.

“We will continue to nourish and delight our consumers with the right snacks and provide value for our shareholders and other stakeholders. We will continue to focus on the well-being of our employees, who remain our valuable assets. We are excited about the future and the opportunity to grow our portfolio of brands.”

Cadbury Nigeria is recognised as a ‘Top Employer in Nigeria’ by the Amsterdam-based Top Employers Institute. The Company is also listed Among ‘Top 100 Companies in Nigeria’ and ‘100 Best Companies to Work for in Nigeria.’

The Company currently operates in three product categories namely cocoa beverage, gum, and candy. Cadbury Bournvita, the Company’s flagship brand, was introduced in 1960, and in 1965, it became the first cocoa beverage to be locally manufactured, while it introduced Cadbury Hot Chocolate 3 in 1 drink under the cocoa beverage category, in 2014. Cadbury Nigeria launched TomTom Classic candy in 1970, and has other candy brands such as TomTom FreshLime, Cadbury Buttermint, Cadbury Caramel, Cadbury Coffee, and Clorets, a chewing gum brand, in its product portfolio.

The Company has a cocoa-processing factory located in Ondo Town, Ondo State, Nigeria. The factory provides the cocoa powder required for manufacturing Cadbury Bournvita and processes cocoa beans into several high-quality cocoa by-products, such as cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and cocoa cake, for local and export markets, thereby contributing to the growth of non-oil exports in Nigeria.

Since its inception in 1965, Cadbury Nigeria has been in the vanguard of promoting good community relations through its robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that cut across health, education, arts, sports, nutrition, and community development. The Company’s signature CSR programme, tagged Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle Project, executed from 2018 to 2021, on its behalf by Helen Keller International, an NGO, cost $1 million. Over 6,000 pupils in public primary schools in Lagos State benefitted directly from the project, which taught them the importance of proper nutrition, physical activity, and gardening through in-school and after-school activities.

As part of its backward integration initiatives, Cadbury Nigeria, through its parent company, Mondelēz International, launched Cocoa Life, the company’s global cocoa sustainability programme, in Nigeria in July 2022. The programme currently covers six states in the country namely Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, and Cross River, and it has empowered thousands of farmers.

Mondelez International has a majority equity-interest of 79.39 per cent in Cadbury Nigeria through its holding in Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited. The remaining 20.61 per cent equity-ownership is held by a diverse group of Nigerian individuals and institutional shareholders.
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