Cadbury and Coles boost Tassie dairy industry

The Tasmanian dairy industry has been boosted by a partnership between Coles and Cadbury, with dairy farmers now supplying 78 million L of fresh milk yearly to the chocolate manufacturer.

Cadbury’s Claremont chocolate manufacturing plant recorded a 14% increase in chocolate production, due in part to Coles’s testing of customer reaction to Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse. The product was previously made in Belgium, but positive customer response to the product saw the company move the manufacture of the mousse to Tasmania.

Other Coles-exclusive products such as the Cadbury AFL football and products inspired by the London Olympics will see an increase in Cadbury’s Tasmanian production, the company says.

“When a new product is successful and the category grows, the benefit flows through to the local operating environment,” said Simon Talbot, Director of Corporate Affairs for Kraft Foods, the owner of Cadbury. “New capital goes in and we need more milk from Tasmanian dairy farmers.”

Cadbury anticipates it will produce 43 t of chocolate in the coming year from Tasmanian milk - equivalent to around 60 million bars of chocolate. Its annual intake of 78 million L accounts for around 12% of Tasmanian milk production.