How New Zealand’s Biggest Chocolate Factory Was Abandoned: Cadbury Dunedin

How New Zealand’s Biggest Chocolate Factory Was Abandoned: Cadbury Dunedin In 2012, 14,000 people watched 50,000 Jaffas race down the world's steepest residential street. Cadbury Dunedin wasn't just a factory — it was a city's smell, the place where chocolate fell five storeys inside a purple silo. Dairy Milk, Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps. All made in Dunedin. But on 16 February 2017, Mondelez told around 350 workers the plant would close. Campbell McPhee, decades on the line, vowed never to buy Cadbury again. On 23 March 2018, the last Pineapple Lumps rolled out, and the machines stopped. Today, 11,000 tonnes of steel rise where it stood, for a hospital due in 2031. This is the story of a profitable plant closed from overseas — and what $130 million in dividends says about ownership. This is not just the story of a chocolate factory. It's the story of a brand that outlived its home. #CadburyDunedin #Cadbury #LostNewZealand #NZHistory #RiseAndFall #NewZealand