Cadbury stops importing to the United States

By JULIANE KIM

Chocolate fans on both sides of the Atlantic are in an outrage. Let’s Buy British Imports, or L.B.B., a major importer of British candy and confectionary, has made an agreement with the Hershey Company to cease imports of all Cadbury chocolate into the United States. For those who have no idea what the big fuss is about, Cadbury is a British company famous for its extremely popular Dairy Milk Chocolate bars and Cadbury Creme Eggs.

According to the Huffington Post, the Hershey Company bought the rights to manufacture and distribute Cadbury products in the U.S., including the popular Dairy Milk bars and Creme Eggs, for $300 million. This is the reason Hershey was able to manufacture the Cadbury candies for themselves.

People across social media have taken up arms against this perceived affront to British chocolate lovers, with #BoycottHershey being the rallying call on Twitter. Others have posted angry messages on Hershey’s Facebook page, and thousands of people have signed an online petition protesting the Hershey Company.

Others are saddened, but seem more resigned to the news.

“There are certain products I will miss,” said junior Kathryn Hall. “I can understand people being upset. I myself was on [hearing] the first news before I was told all the details.”

John Cadbury founded Cadbury in 1824 and sold his cocoa and drinking chocolate that he made himself in his grocer’s shop. Years later, in 1897, Cadbury introduced their first milk chocolate bars. This eventually led to the creation of Cadbury’s famous Dairy Milk bar, which was made to have more milk in ratio to other ingredients than any other chocolate bar on the market at the time. Cadbury continued to grow and expand until 1971, when Cadbury came out with the Cadbury Creme Egg, another iconic product.

One reason Cadbury supporters are so upset about the import ban is that Cadbury’s chocolate brings up childhood memories for some. This is especially true for the Cadbury Creme Eggs, which are especially popular during the Easter season.

Cadbury Creme Eggs will still be available in the U.S., as will most of Cadbury’s products, except they will be made by Hershey instead of Cadbury, and with a different recipe.

Unfortunately for Hershey, the American versions of Cadbury’s chocolate are deemed to be unacceptable for many fans of British confectionary. British chocolate tends to contain more milk in comparison to American chocolate, and this difference is reflected in the recipe for Cadbury chocolate manufactured by Hershey. Hershey chocolates seem to focus on the main ingredient being sugar, while British chocolate enthusiasts insist that the extra milk results in a creamier, more delicious candy.

Junior Da-Veia Brown summed her opinion on the issue up in a few wise words, saying, “I mean, I guess chocolate is chocolate overall. Everyone has their own preference and it’s all sweet in the end.”