Industry | Chocolate Confectionery Food and drink |
---|---|
Founded | 1927 |
Founder | Harry Lea |
Headquarters | , Australia |
Key people | Darrell Bernard Lea |
Products | Chocolate, liquorice and other confectionery |
Owner | Quadrant Private Equity |
Number of employees | 200 (2018 [1] ) |
Website | www |
Darrell Lea is an Australian company that manufactures and distributes chocolate, liquorice and other confectionery. Its headquarters is based in the Sydney suburb of Ingleburn. After 85 years under the ownership and control of the Lea family, the company went into voluntary administration in 2012 leading to its acquisition, sale and restructuring under new ownership.
Darrell Lea was in the ownership of the Lea family from its foundation by Harry Lea until the early 2010s. Harry, who was born on 15 February 1876 in Spitalfields, London, migrated to Western Australia in 1888 and started making confectionery in 1917 at the back of his Manly Corso fruit shop. Lea started the first shop in New South Wales in 1927 in Sydney's Haymarket, being a combined milk bar and confectionery shop. During the Great Depression in 1929, a shop became vacant in Pitt Street, and in 1935 a factory was established at 1 York Street. His first almond nougat creation was called Bulgarian Rock.
Monty (Montague) and Harris Lea, the two middle sons of Harry, opened a manufacturing operation in Melbourne, with their first shop on Swanston Street, in 1940.
Harry Lea died in 1957. Maurice Lea, Harry's eldest son, opened five shops in Brisbane in 1966 and delivered fresh stock until he (Maurice) retired in 1996. Robert Lea, Harris' second son, opened a shop in Adelaide in 1966.
In 1968, the company was listed on the stock exchange, with Darrell (c. 1927-1992) as chairman and managing director (Harris became managing director in 1971), but was privatised again in 1982, with Jason Durard Lea (28 September 1942 – 12 September 2005), Monty's son, being managing director from 1983 to 1998. Darrell died in 1990, aged 62. In 1992, the Darrell Lea chocolate factory at Kogarah was rebuilt with modern machinery after a fire in the previous year.
On 10 July 2012, Darrell Lea was placed into voluntary administration due to a review of the business by its directors who had concerns about Darrell Lea's ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations. The company was reported to be losing $200,000 a week, [2] and half of its company-run stores were closed immediately, with the loss of nearly 200 jobs. [3]
On 3 September 2012, the company was acquired by the Queensland owners of VIP Petfoods, the Quinn family. The business was further restructured, with the loss of 172 casual and 246 permanent jobs, leaving only 83 Darrell Lea employees. The last company-owned stores were closed by end of business on 9 September 2012. The Quinns turned the business around after injecting about $30 million into it and building a second factory in Ingleburn. [4] More than 500 products were cut from the product line which halved annual revenue, but stopped the ongoing losses. [2] Darrell Lea products continued to be sold through its licensed retailer network [3] which was expanded into IGA, Coles and Woolworths.
In January 2018, Quadrant Private Equity purchased Darrell Lea from the Quinn family for about $200 million. Tony and Christina Quinn retained a significant stake in the company. [4]
Prior to 2012, Darrell Lea's range comprised over 800 products, including chocolate boxes, sugar free products and fundraising items with 60 extra items created seasonally for Easter and Christmas. It is particularly famous for its iconic "Rocklea Road" recipe, Australia's most famous version of Rocky Road chocolate. In the review conducted by the Quinn family after the restructure, the company eliminated or put on hold many of the lesser-known products to concentrate on expanding the sales and distribution of its more profitable products.[ citation needed ]
In April 2008, Darrell Lea won a five-year legal battle brought by rival chocolate company Cadbury over Darrell Lea's use of the colour purple on its packaging (which Cadbury uses for its Dairy Milk range packaging), when the Australian judge ruled that Darrell Lea was not trying to mislead customers by adopting the similar coloured branding. [5] [6]
Darrell Lea has sponsored a local high school in order to assist students in continuing their studies to completion, and has supported The Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home which employs people with severe intellectual disability. Additionally, the company helps organisations such as the Starlight Foundation, Variety Club, and other local youth groups. [ citation needed ]
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Greater London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
Freddo is a chocolate bar brand shaped like an anthropomorphic cartoon frog. It was originally manufactured by the now defunct company MacRobertson's, an Australian confectionery company, but is now produced by Cadbury. Some of the more popular flavours include strawberry, pineapple and peppermint.
Violet Crumble is an Australian chocolate bar. The bar is a crumbly honeycomb toffee centre coated in a layer of compound chocolate. It was first made by Hoadley's Chocolates in South Melbourne around the year 1913; and is currently made in Adelaide, South Australia by Robern Menz after a period of ownership by Nestlé. Its advertising slogan is "It's the way it shatters that matters", and previously was "Nothing else matters". The bar shares similarities to the Crunchie bar made by British firm Cadbury. Aside from Australia, it is available in Hawaii and a few other places, including Hong Kong, and Mollie Stone's Markets and Cost Plus World Market in the United States.
Cadbury Dairy Milk is a British brand of milk chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in June 1905 and now consists of a number of products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made with exclusively milk chocolate. In 1928, Cadbury's introduced the "glass and a half" slogan to accompany the Dairy Milk chocolate bar, to advertise the bar's higher milk content.
Cadbury Creme Egg is a chocolate confection produced in the shape of an egg. It originated from the British chocolatier Fry's in 1963 before being renamed by Cadbury in 1971. The product consists of a thick chocolate shell containing a sweet white and yellow filling that resembles fondant. The filling mimics the albumen and yolk of a soft boiled egg.
The Easter Bilby is an Australian alternative to the Easter Bunny and chocolate bunnies. Bilbies are native Australian marsupials that are endangered. To raise money and increase awareness of conservation efforts, bilby-shaped chocolates and related merchandise are sold within many stores throughout Australia as an alternative to Easter bunnies.
Quality Street is a line of tinned and boxed toffees, chocolates and sweets, first manufactured in 1936 by Mackintosh's in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was named after J. M. Barrie's play Quality Street. Since 1988, the confectionery has been produced by Nestlé. Quality Street has long been a competitor to Cadbury Roses, which were launched by Cadbury in 1938. Nestlé does not distribute Quality Street in the US, but it may be ordered online for delivery, or found in specialty candy shops.
J. S. Fry & Sons, Ltd., better known as Fry's, was a British chocolate company owned by Joseph Storrs Fry and his family. Beginning in Bristol in 1761, the business went through several changes of name and ownership, becoming J. S. Fry & Sons in 1822. In 1847, Fry's produced the first solid chocolate bar. The company also created the first filled chocolate sweet, Cream Sticks, in 1853. Fry is most famous for Fry's Chocolate Cream, the first mass-produced chocolate bar, which was launched in 1866, and Fry's Turkish Delight, launched in 1914.
Nestlé UK Ltd., trading as Rowntree's, is a British confectionery brand and a former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat, Aero, Fruit Pastilles, Smarties brands, and the Rolo and Quality Street brands when it merged with Mackintosh's in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery. Rowntree's also launched After Eight thin mint chocolates in 1962. The Yorkie and Lion bars were introduced in 1976. Rowntree's also pioneered the festive selection box which in the UK have been a staple gift at Christmas for over a century.
Terry's is a British chocolate and confectionery brand. The original company was founded in 1767 in York, England, and was part of the city's famous confectionery triumvirate along with Rowntree's and Cravens. The company's headquarters and factory, Terry's Chocolate Works, was closed by Kraft in 2005 and production moved to Kraft factories in Europe. The business returned to the UK in 2019 as Terry's Chocolate Co located in London. Their best known products include Terry's Chocolate Orange and Terry's All Gold box of assorted chocolates which were both introduced in the 1930s.
The Natural Confectionery Co. is an Australian confectionery brand, owned by Mondelez International.
Cadbury's Chocolate Factory, also known as Cadbury's Claremont and colloquially as Cadbury's, is a prominent Australian chocolate factory situated in Claremont, Tasmania. Producing a company-record of over 60,000 tonnes of chocolate in 2021, it has earned distinction as "the largest chocolate factory in the southern hemisphere". Established in 1921, the factory and surrounding model village estate marked Cadbury's first business expansion outside the United Kingdom. The facility is currently owned by the multinational conglomerate Mondelez International, which purchased Cadbury in 2010.
Oatfield was a chocolate and confectionery manufacturer located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. The company was the oldest confectionery manufacturer in Ireland.
Pineapple lumps or pineapple chunks are a chocolate-covered confection with a soft, chewy pineapple-flavoured middle from New Zealand. They are often identified as Kiwiana.
E. Wedel is a Polish confectionery company, which has been producing a variety of chocolates, cakes, and snacks since 1851. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand of candy in Poland, considered to be the "Polish national chocolate brand" in that market, and is the leading candy brand among Polish producers, with about 14% of the Polish market in 2005, and 11.7% in 2007.
Pascall is an Australian and New Zealand confectionery brand, which is owned by Mondelēz International.
Mackintosh's was a British confectionery firm founded in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was known for its toffee and the Quality Street and Rolo brands.
Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelēz International. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is headquartered in Uxbridge, London, and operates in more than fifty countries worldwide. Its best known products include Dairy Milk chocolate.
Rowntree Mackintosh plc, trading as Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery, was an English confectionery company based in York, England. It was formed by the merger of Rowntree's and John Mackintosh Co. The company was famous for making chocolate brands, such as Kit Kat, Aero and Quality Street. It was purchased by Nestlé in 1987, with products rebranded under its own brand.
Hoadley's Chocolates was an Australian confectionery company founded in 1913 famous for the Polly Waffle and Violet Crumble chocolate bars. The company was bought by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1972, which would then be acquired by Nestlé in 1988.