Cadbury’s has recreated its first store with chocolate to celebrate the company’s 200th anniversary.
Cadbury World, in Bournville, Birmingham, features a stunning recreation of the original 1824 Bull Street store made exclusively from Cadbury chocolate.
The edible masterpiece recreates the first store John Cadbury opened at 93 Bull Street in Birmingham.
Measuring 85cm tall and weighing 30kg (the equivalent of 667 standard bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk), it took the talented chocolatiers five days to build this magnificent chocolate shop.
Every element of the creation was made by hand, from the cobblestones of the street to the bricks of the building.
Pictured: Cadbury chocolatiers Donna Oluban and Dawn Jenks perfect their recreation of the first store.
The masterpiece was created by chocolatiers Donna Oluban and Dawn Jenks, who worked with milk and white chocolate to delicately handcraft each edible element.
John Cadbury was originally a tea merchant and coffee roaster, but also sold hops, mustard, patent cocoa and cocoa beans.
To attract wealthy customers, the store was the first in Birmingham to have glass windows with mahogany frames which John is said to have cleaned every day.
The store had attractive displays including Chinese vases and oriental figurines containing black and green tea.
Fast forward to 2024 and the intricate work of Cadbury World chocolatiers reflects these iconic details: from 43 individually wrapped miniature recreations of the original Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in the window, to the grand entrance door and artwork displayed in the showcase
To mark the reopening of the newly renovated Bournville Experience in March, the stunning creation will be on display for visitors to enjoy.
The family experience has been revamped as part of Merlin Entertainments’ ongoing £8 million investment in the attraction this year.
Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the heritage behind the Cadbury brand and discover the Quaker ethos of the Cadbury family and how Bournville Village was built.
Pictured: What the Cadbury store on Bull Street in Birmingham is believed to have looked like in the 1880s
The edible masterpiece recreates the first store John Cadbury opened at 93 Bull Street in Birmingham.
It took the talented chocolatiers five days to build the magnificent chocolate shop.
The showcase recreation features miniature recreations of old Cadbury chocolate bars.
Cadbury’s has recreated its first store with chocolate to celebrate the company’s 200th anniversary.
The new Bournville Experience also includes the Gill Cocks Collection, which contains more than 1,000 unique pieces of Cadbury memorabilia, as well as busts of George and Richard Cadbury and artefacts from the early days of the business.
Speaking about Bull Street Shop’s chocolate creation and the new Bournville Experience, Colin Pitt, Education and Heritage Center Manager, said: “We are always hugely impressed by the stunning creations our chocolatiers create here at Cadbury World, and with a year as important as this one. For the brand, this had to be very special.
“We’re proud of Cadbury’s history and visitors of all ages really enjoy learning about the brand’s heritage here at the attraction, so what better way to honor 200 years of Cadbury than with a throwback to where it all began.” .
Visitors will soon experience the new Cadbury Chocolate Quest attraction, a new Have a Go themed interactive zone and an improved Advertising Avenue.
Currently, visitors can also experience the 4D Chocolate Adventure zone and chocolate-making demonstrations.
In 1921, the first Cadbury logo to appear was based on the signature of then director William Cadbury. But it wasn’t until 1960 that the logo appeared on other chocolate bars.
Every element of the creation was made by hand, from the paving stones of the street to the cobblestones and bricks of the building.
Cadbury received a royal warrant from the monarch in February 1854, making the company the official cocoa and chocolate manufacturer to the monarch.
To mark the reopening of the newly renovated Bournville Experience in March, the stunning creation will be on display for visitors to enjoy.
For over 100 years, Cadbury chocolate has been wrapped in a distinctive purple wrapper.
The baking giant has used this color since 1914, when it was introduced as a tribute to Queen Victoria.
Cadbury received a royal warrant from the monarch in February 1854, making the company the official cocoa and chocolate manufacturer to the monarch.
The entire Dairy Milk range became purple and gold in 1920.
Fans of the iconic chocolate have often wondered about the meaning of the glass and a half of milk motif that adorns the packaging.
But far from being a veiled boast about how much milk John Cadbury could drink in one sitting, the symbol actually relates to how milk is put into each half-pound bar.