Cadbury-Only the crumbliest, flakiest management……

Of course on the surface they appear to be as like chocolate and cheese but stranger flavours than that have become palatable compliments to each other. Take peanut butter and jam….

Whilst considerable column / blog inches are being dedicated to the capitulation of yet another British iconic brand to marauding foreign corporations– accompanied by the customary hand wringing about British jobs / sovereignty – everyone knows the real story has really less to do with the protection of British jobs and more to do with the quality of British executive management.  As the third largest global confectionary brand by market share surely it would be incumbent upon the executive of the day to adopt a more globally defensive or offensive strategy?  The problem is that it wouldn’t appear that Cadbury’s themselves had any grand designs on how they could maintain or improve their global competitive position. So, should it come as a surprise that someone else might have? That’s global business right on the (chocolate) button.

The main issue is that large British brands of considerable market share need to make a decision about whether they have the appetite and ability to play on the global stage or not…take Vodafone or Tesco as fair examples.  What is not helpful is to indulge oneself in a spot ofBrand Heritage sentiment.  Clearly having brand heritage can be distinct advantage to a global business, but only in as much as it is relevant and authentic to its main stakeholder constituents. It would seem as in the case of Cadburys that despite the early rhetoric of CEO Todd Stitzer encouraging Cadbury staff and shareholders to take to the streets in bunny suits and ‘bite them on their features’ – the truth is, in the final analysis, they simply didn’t believe enough in the Cadbury brand to be that bothered. So the board had little choice but to capitulate. Therein lies the lesson for similarly placed corporate brands: get in touch with the power of your brand authenticity today or run the risk of giving up your brand heritage tomorrow.

On the bright side, if the Cadbury / Kraft union works out anywhere near as well as other noted overseas pillories of the Great British Brand such as Asda, Mini or Orange – that brand heritage might end up in the hands of someone who actually appreciates it more. Then again….you could be Liverpool FC…….

Tim Bleszynski,
Co-founder,