200 Years of Cadbury: 43 iconic photos of the Birmingham Bournville chocolate maker from 1824 to 2024

Since the opening of its first shop in Birmingham in 1824, Cadbury has delighted the nation with its confectionary and drinking chocolate - and this year it's celebrating its 200th anniversary.

It's certainly been an incredible rise for the Cadbury family, with thousands of Brummies playing their part to develop some of the world's favourite treats while working in the Bournville factory throughout the 1900s.

Birmingham-born John Cadbury opened the first store at 93 Bull Street in the city, and sold tea, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate. By 1842, he was selling almost 30 varieties of drinking chocolates and cocoa. The entrepreneur passed the company on to his brothers in 1861, Richard and George. In just five years, the brothers made the business very profitable by moving its focus from tea and coffee, to high quality chocolate.

The company went from strength to strength and by 1875, Cadbury’s had manufactured the first Cadbury’s Easter egg. By 1897, Richard and George had moved the business to Bournville in south Birmingham and manufactured their first milk chocolate bar, where it of course remains today.

Since then the company has gone from strength to strength. In 1905, Cadbury launched its famous Dairy Milk bar, still the confectionery giant's most popular bar. Its iconic Milk Tray was first produced in 1915, and Cadbury expanded overseas in the 1920s, opening factories in America, with the Fruit and Nut bar, still a favourite today, hitting the shelves towards the end of the 20s. The company then expanded to India in the 1950s, opening a factory in Mumbai as it continued its rise.

But like every major company, it's not all been plain sailing for Cadbury. In 2009 the brand became embroiled in controversy as American food giant Kraft Foods Inc launched a bid to buy it. Following a long fight, Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr agreed to a deal in January 2010 after extracting a last-minute deal.

The acquisition sparked a questions about hostile foreign bidders and led to an overhaul of the UK’s takeover rules. In 2012, Kraft reorganised its business, with Cadbury remaining in the renamed company called Mondelez International Inc.

Today, Cadbury products created by hundreds of talented Brummies, remain extremely popular across the UK, and to mark the anniversary of Birmingham's iconic chocolate maker, we've taken a look back at some historic images showing Cadbury through the years - from its earliest days in the 1800s, right through to 2024.

All photos from Getty Images and the Express and Star