It is the stuff a chocoholics dreams are made of – millions of carefully crafted chocolate eggs progressing down the production line just in time for Easter.
Workers at the Bournville Cadbury factory in Birmingham make a staggering 47 MILLION shell eggs each year.
Easter Eggs are produced at the factory all year around to meet high levels of demand from across the globe.
There are 12 varieties of Easter eggs to make, with favourites including the Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo and Cadbury Roses.
A staggering 300 million Cadbury’s Creme Eggs are also produced at the factory each year and are available from January 1 until Easter.
Britain is a nation of chocolate lovers and will consume around 90 million Easter eggs this year – with half made by Cadbury.
A spokeswoman for Cadbury said: “Perhaps one of the most significant events in the Easter Egg market occurred in the early 1950’s when a carton designer, William T Horry, revolutionised the business.
“Prior to this, chocolate eggs were fragile and expensive to make and pack.
“While working on a carton design for a light bulb, William Horry realised the potential of a similar carton to hold fragile Easter Eggs and this changed the whole face of the market.
“The Roses Easter Egg carton was the first Cadbury Easter Egg to use this packaging. The individual packaging was designed to protect the egg while offering the opportunity to display the eggs itself, they were also less expensive and easy to assemble during the production process and finally the carton provided space for bright new designs and branding.”
In the factory, liquid chocolate is poured into moulds and the two halves are joined before being wrapped in foil.
The whole process is mechanised, although Cadbury workers monitor it closely.
Britain’s first hollow chocolate Easter egg was made by Bristol-based company Fry’s in 1873.
Cadbury’s followed with their take on the hollow Easter egg two years later, in 1975, which was slightly bigger than the Fry’s creation.
The first creme-filled eggs hit shelves in 1923, with the Fry’s Creme Egg launched in 1963. This was re branded as Cadbury’s Creme Egg in 1971.
Cadbury was founded in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a shop selling cocoa and chocolate in Birmingham.
