The Cadbury Godfather

If you've been following this blog for a while, you will know that I am right Royally peeved with the Hershey ban on the import of British chocolate.  It's obvious I'm not the only one as the #boycotthersheys hashtag has taken over Twitter.  What are we going to do without our yummy Cadbury's??

Well never fear, there are a few enterprising people out there who always see an opening in the market.  So with no more ado, I would like to introduce to you to.... drum roll....

ChocolateMailbox.com

 

Chris Turner and his business partner, both from just outside Manchester, have put together a wonderful website where you can order British Chocolate to be delivered directly to your house.  They have a variety of sizes to choose from, with a selection box of 10, 20 or 30 bars.  The boxes have brilliant names such as:

• Biggie Box
• British Classics Box
• Cadbury Crazy Box
• Cadbury Collection Box
• Smooth & Creamy Box
• Special Sharing Box  (who wants to share - not me!)

There's also a category where you can "Pick & Mix" your very own selection.  The price is a very reasonable $15.50 per box, no matter what size you choose.  Shipping varies depending upon where you live and how much you buy.

Chris told me he believes the recent ban by Hersheys is totally unfair and a sorry sign of the corporate giants flexing their muscles in the name of greater profits [I think we all agree with that].  It's his view that "It's everybody's right to be able to have the freedom of choice if they want to eat British Chocolate (read "real" chocolate) and no one company should be able to dictate to us."

I voiced my concern that chocolate being shipped to hot climates, particularly like California (yes, I was thinking of myself) would be in a mailbox for an extended period of time and would result in the chocolate turning to soup before I got home.  Nope, not a problem, they've thought of that already as they offer tracked and signed postal options so you will know when it's arriving and can either be at home when it's delivered or you can pick it up from the Post Office.  I got around that problem by having my box delivered to my work address. 

While I was waiting for it to arrive I was a little fearful.  What happens if it gets stuck in some airport on the way and the heat gets to it?  What happens if the post office open it and take my chocolate?  Oh the dilemma, the nightmares.  Well, this is what it looked like when it got here:

Post Office doesn't read, apparently!

Hmm... fragile??

I carefully opened the package (okay, I frantically tore into it) to see what goodies were inside.  All my fears were unwarranted.  The chocolate was packed really well and even though the box looked like it had been kicked around Wembley Stadium for 90 minutes, every chocolate bar was undamaged.  I could hear angels singing as I saw this little lot

From the selection, it looks like I received the 'Cadbury's Collection Box," although there is a cheeky Cadbury's Creme Egg in there too - just in time for Easter, how handy!

What was most exciting for me was the Freddo as I've heard so much about them. I don't think I've ever had one.  They were introduced by Cadbury's in 1973, but were discontinued in 1979 and for some reason I don't remember them at all.  They were reissued in 1994, presumably just after I left England, so this is is a first for me.  

This is definitely a great way to get your chocolate fix and very soon, you won't even have to order every month because a subscription service called "British Chocolate Club" is in the pipeline, where you will automatically be sent chocolate every month!  Can't really argue with that, can you??

So don't just sit there with your mouth watering, click on the link to the right and start shopping.  I have some vouchers for a 20% discount on all orders.  If you would like one, please let me know by contacting me here.  Better hurry...... meanwhile, I'm going to sit back, relax and eat my Creme Egg - very.very.slowly.

*This is a sponsored post on behalf of Chocolate Mailbox.com



Goodbye Cadbury, We Will Miss You!

Anyone who’s lived in America for a while, or even those that have been here on holiday and tried Hershey's chocolate will no doubt understand why us expats are getting all worked up over the lawsuit recently filed by Hershey to ban the import of British chocolate.  

Their reasoning?  They want to protect their copyright in the United States so consumers are not "confused or misled when they see a product name or product package that is confusingly similar to a Hershey name or trade dress."

Because these two are really confusing, aren’t they?

Apparently, it must be the colour of the packets, because I don't think there's any way, at all, that I could be confused about these two.  Not even if I was blindfolded and wearing boxing gloves!

And then, the most ridiculous of all, the Yorkie Bar and the York Peppermint Patty.  What the hell? These are so different, it's a joke.  It's the name, they say, it's too similar, they say.... so in general, American consumers can't read enough to be able to tell the different between Yorkie and York? Nice, Hersey, what a lovely way to treat your customers by insinuating they're all illiterate.

It started with the recipe change of Cadbury's Crème Eggs, making them taste gritty and bland (basically, just like Hershey chocolate).  They think we are just being typically picky expats when we complain about the bloody awful chocolate here.  And why wouldn’t we?  British made Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has a high fat content because the main ingredient is milk, leading to a nice creamy taste.  The main ingredient of the American version is sugar and some lovely Polyglycerol polyricinoleate and soy lecithin (yummy).  I think there might also be some sawdust and coal in there too, judging by the consistency. 

So what can we do about this?  Well, it might be a long fight, but the first thing would be to sign this petition:

PROTEST HERSHEY'S LAWSUIT AGAINST BRITISH CHOCOLATE

It's not just us expats who are taking this badly, Andrew Baker of The Times wrote:

"It will seem more likely to anyone who has ever tasted Hershey's own-brand products, and its approximations of Cadbury's, that they are instead preventing consumers from buying products which taste much better than Hershey's own," 

Oh, and then there's this:

DEFINITION OF "MONOPOLY"
A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service.  By definition, monopoly is characterized by an absence of competition, which often results in high prices and inferior products."   [http://www.investopedia.com]

So go and sign that petition now.  And a note to my family - get ready to fill your suitcases with Cadbury's chocolate next time you visit!