Cadbury has sold chocolate products for over 200 years. It was one of the first chocolate companies to produce a genuinely creamy chocolate bar. Ever since it has reigned as the number-one-selling chocolate brand in the UK. Today, Cadbury is a billion-dollar corporation whose distinctive purple wrapper chocolates appear in stores around the world.
The use of a particular purple in Cadbury’s branding is more than aesthetic; it also functions as a way to protect its unique identity through the packaging of the goods.
How Cadbury Got Its Start
The history of Cadbury is closely entwined with the history of chocolate as a culinary ingredient. In 1824, John Cadbury opened a grocery store in Birmingham, UK. Besides the usual groceries, he sold tea, coffee, powdered cocoa, and drinking chocolate.
At the time, there was no such thing as a chocolate bar as we know it today. The earliest version was a coarse, bitter pastille introduced in the late 1850s. Swiss chocolate makers, however, were already experimenting with recipes that blended milk with chocolate to produce a creamy bar.
Cadbury’s store was a success, and he quickly expanded. He moved into a larger building and purchased a nearby warehouse. He began focusing on chocolate and cocoa products, which were his top-selling items.
The packaging of the goods sold in Cadbury’s store played a role in elevating the brand’s visibility, setting the stage for its iconic designs.
On the Path To Perfect Chocolate
In 1897, Cadbury introduced the first Cadbury milk chocolate bar. It was not a commercial success, however, as it was rough in texture and not very sweet.
In the nineteenth century, the Swiss were way ahead of the game in chocolate production. In 1875, they discovered that adding condensed milk instead of powdered milk gave chocolate a creamy, sweet flavor. In 1879, Swiss chocolatier Rudolph Lindt invented a technique called “conching” that made chocolate smooth. Swiss chocolate became the best-selling chocolate in the UK and the world.
The Introduction of Dairy Milk
At this time, Cadbury’s sons Richard and George were running the company. They decided they would compete directly with the Swiss to create a comparable bar. They took a gamble by investing an enormous amount of money in a cocoa processing machine.
It took years, but they finally created a delicious bar by adding more milk than any other chocolate bar had used. They called it Dairy Milk to differentiate it from other bars.
They introduced the new bar in 1904. By 1907, Cadbury Dairy Milk was Cadbury’s most popular product. In 1920, it became the top-selling brand of chocolate in the UK. It has held that position ever since.
Cadbury also focused on the way its products were marketed and distributed, ensuring that its unique style was consistently applied to the packaging of the goods, which reinforced its distinctiveness.
More Successes
The successes kept coming. In 1928, the company introduced the Fruit & Nut bar. The Cadburys advertised their chocolates by claiming there was a “glass and a half of milk” in every bar. In 1993, they produced Whole Nut.
In 1998, the company repackaged Dairy Milk with the well-known purple packaging it still uses today.
Cadbury’s Early Logos
In 1905, John’s grandson William Cadbury commissioned the first Cadbury logo. The designer was French artist Georges Auriol.
Auriol created a stylized cocoa tree interwoven with the Cadbury name. The company registered the design in 1911 and used it on boxes, catalogs and advertisements. The company continued to use this design until well after the Second World War. In 1952, the company created a streamlined version of the logo.
This distinct wordmark became a visual shorthand for Cadbury’s reputation and quality, underscoring its significance in marketing and trademark protection.
Check out our guide on trademarking a logo.
A Redesign After 50 Years
Cadbury has made only a few changes since then. In 2020, Cadbury hired the design company Bulletproof to create a new logo. It was the first major overhaul of the brand’s identity and packaging, the first since the 1960s.
They made the signature of the company’s found more cursive, and changed the daily milk logo to be bolder with a capitalized logotype with a new pattern on the wrapper and a redrawn “glass and a half icon”. This redesign was intended to “reconnect with its roots” and celebrate the brand’s philanthropic spirit.
Cadbury will also reintroduce the Milk Chocolate Marble flavor. The company pulled that flavor eight years ago, and customers have been clamoring to get it back.
“The new elevated packaging includes a redrawn word mark, new iconography and typography, making the look and feel more natural, authentic and high quality,” a company spokesperson told an Australian news service.
Purple Patents
One thing that won’t change is Cadbury’s iconic purple color. In 1995, Cadbury registered its distinctive shade of purple, officially identified as Pantone 2685C, as a trademark. John Cadbury originally selected the color purple as a tribute to Queen Victoria.
By focusing on how purple was applied to the packaging, Cadbury ensured its color choice was more than symbolic; it became a critical legal tool for brand protection. Over time, the iconic purple color became a key part of Cadbury’s brand color and packaging.
The registration of this purple trademark highlighted its importance as a visual identifier that consumers instantly associate with Cadbury. However, this trademark claim also became a source of legal battle.
Read more on how to trademark a color and check out more example of famous trademarked colors.
Legal Battles Over Cadbury Purple
Cadbury’s efforts to protect the color purple have led to significant disputes, particularly with its chief competitor, Nestlé.
Initial Ruling in Favor of Cadbury
In 2012, the UK High Court ruled that Cadbury could get trademark protection for its purple shade, which the law identifies as Pantone 2685C. The decision allowed Cadbury the exclusive right to use that shade in packaging for its chocolate products. It also allowed Cadbury to prevent Nestle from using a similar shade for its chocolate products.
In its ruling, the Court said people typically remember colors and packaging better than they remember names. The court concluded it wasn’t fair to let Nestle use a color the public associates closely with another brand.
In 2013, however, an appeals court overturned the decision. Nestle argued successfully that it had two well-established products that used purple packaging. The court agreed with Nestle. The court ruled that descriptions like “applied to the whole visible surface” were too vague to enforce.
Justice Colin Birss noted that while Cadbury believed its shade of purple was distinctive, the mark description needed greater precision. Without a clear definition, the court of appeal concluded that the purple trademark could not stand.
The court’s decision emphasized the need for trademark descriptions to specify how the mark is applied to the packaging. Without such clarity, enforcement becomes challenging.
Final Ruling in 2019
The long-running dispute ended in 2019 when the court once again ruled against Cadbury. The court stated that the visible surface of the packaging is critical for consumer recognition but found that Cadbury’s form of application was too broad for a range of products.
Because Cadbury applied a vague definition in its trademark application, the court determined other brands could now use Cadbury purple. Despite losing the appeal, Cadbury pledged to continue to protect its brand colour through other strategies.
A Bad Break Over KitKat
The clash between Cadbury and Nestlé extended beyond colors to chocolate shapes. In 2013, Nestlé attempted to protect what it claimed was a distinctive trademark — the four-pronged shape of the KitKat bar.
Cadbury argued that the shape was not unique enough for trademark protection. After a lengthy legal battle, the courts ruled in 2018 that the KitKat bar shape did not meet the standard for distinctiveness, allowing other brands to copy the design.
Cadbury’s Purple Reign Continues
Despite setbacks, Cadbury remains a leading force in the chocolate industry. Its purple wrapper and timeless brand identity continue to set it apart. While challenges over Pantone 2685C have tested its exclusivity, Cadbury is determined to refine its trademark application process to secure stronger trademark act protections.
For over 200 years, Cadbury has embodied quality and innovation. Whether its shade of purple remains exclusive is uncertain, but Cadbury’s legacy and purple reign endure.
Read more about famous Trademarks Act 1994 cases, how to trademark a color, and iconic battles, including Christian Louboutin’s red soles and T-Mobile’s magenta. The way a trademark is applied to the packaging of the goods often determines its enforceability, as seen in these cases.
