Cadbury: Marble chocolate bar returns to shelves with new company logo

To celebrate a new chocolate bar, Cadbury has overhauled its famed look after half a century - and Australia is the first to see it.

EXCLUSIVE

Chocolate giant Cadbury is set to make one of its biggest changes for at least 50 years, with Australia being the first country globally to experience the major new look.

Although, fear not, the firm’s distinctive purple packs will remain, and there is still “a glass and a half” in each bar.

From next week, Cadbury will roll out the first major change to its famous and historic logo since the 1960s.

Out goes the current chunky, bold, swirly logo and in comes a new “elevated, authentic, high quality” mark, the company has said.

RELATED: Cadbury Australia confirm rumour Marble is returning to shelves

The new design will be seen first on packs of Cadbury Dairy Milk Marble, a combination of milk and white chocolate with a hazelnut centre, that will return to shelves after Easter following eight years of pleading by chocoholics.

The Cadbury logo that has been used since the 1960s.

The new Cadbury logo is skinnier and more cursive and harks back to the Cadbury family.

Big changes can be risky moves for much-loved brands. While the design of packaging regularly changes, well-known logos, such as Coca-Cola and David Jones, are often left well alone or only tinkered with at the edges.

In 2010, US fashion retailer Gap found itself in trouble when it threw out its classic blue box brand and replaced it with a logo derided as “cheap, tacky and very dull”. The company swiftly reverted to its previous mark.

Cadbury bosses will be hoping confectionary lovers will be kinder.

Owned by US food company Mondelez, which also makes Oreo biscuits and Pascall sweets, the new brand will be unveiled in Australia first before appearing in South Africa, Malaysia and then other markets including the UK, Middle East, India and Canada.

Australia is often used as a test bed for companies. McDonald’s debuted McCafé here, while Cadbury itself launched Marvellous Creations and Dark Milk bars domestically before they were rolled out worldwide.

John Cadbury who founded Cadbury in 1824 in Birmingham

An early version of the famous signature, close in style to the new logo, appeared on trucks in the 1920s.

The new Cadbury logo is now lighter and more cursive than its predecessor.

The company has said it harks back to John Cadbury, who founded the eponymous company in 1824 in the UK city of Birmingham. Cadbury’s UK website says the signature first appeared in 1921 and was based on William Cadbury’s handwriting.

Whoever first penned the famous script, for several decades it was only found on the side of trucks. It was only in the 1960s that a version similar to today’s logo made it onto bars.

“The new elevated packaging includes a redrawn wordmark, new iconography and typography, making the look and feel more natural, authentic and high quality,” a company spokesperson said.

“The revitalisation of the Cadbury wordmark drew inspiration from the hand of founder John Cadbury himself to create a beautifully crafted signature with a more contemporary feel.”

The Dairy Milk brand has also been refreshed. In contrast, it’s now chunkier and almost overshadows the Cadbury name.

Cadbury bars from 2000 show the pack has changed but not the famous logo.

MARBLE RETURNS TO SHELVES NEXT WEEK

For chocolate lovers, however, it’s less about the new logo and more about the returning classic it will first be featured on.

The new Marble bars will hit the shops on April 17, although the new logo has also been spied on a few packs of Old Gold in recent days too.

Cadbury marketing director Paul Chatfield said it was a throwback to a much-loved block in uncertain times.

“Given the current climate, we’re glad to bring a little joy to those around the country who have been calling for us to bring back Cadbury Dairy Milk Marble,” he said.

“Cadbury has been providing Australians with a welcome treat for over 100 years, particularly during times of need.”

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marble packs will show off the new logo when they arrive on shelves next week.

Marble’s return was announced by the company in a post on the 20,000 strong Bring Back Cadbury Marble Facebook page in February.

“We have been absolutely blown away by the amount of support and love that you have for one of our classic flavours,” the post read.

“Please be assured that every plea, petition and comment has been heard – and we have been working hard to bring back what you want.”

It sent some Marble fans into overdrive.

“HOW F***ING DELIGHTFUL, I AM ECSTATIC,” one said.

“OMG I’m so excited, my husband had to go and get this when I was pregnant with our first child,” another commented, clearly feeling the nostalgia.