E.Wedel
Encyclopedia
E. Wedel is a famous Polish
confectionery
company, producing many varieties of high-quality chocolate
s, cakes, and snacks. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand
of candy in Poland, considered by some to be the "Polish national 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.
In June 2010 Kraft Foods
sold Wedel to Lotte Group
of Japan as part of their enforced divestment program of certain parts of the Cadbury plc which it acquired in March 2010.
(1813-1902), the company and its products became known in most of Central
and Eastern Europe
. The logo of the company is based on Karol Wedel's signature. His son Emil Albert Fryderyk Wedel (1841-1919) apprenticed in candy and chocolate factories in Western Europe
before inheriting and expanding his father's business. His descendant Jan Wedel (d. 1960), the last member of the Wedel family to own the company, was considered "the Willy Wonka
" of pre-war Poland. In 1894 the company moved its main factory from Szpitalna street in Warsaw
. In 1934, during the time of the Great Depression
, Jan Wedel opened a second factory in Praga
, one of the most modern in the Second Polish Republic
. The company was also known for its very generous social welfare policies. As one of the first in Europe, it had its own creche
, kindergarten, hospital and cafeteria, and rewarded its best employees with no-interest housing loans; its model was highly acclaimed by the Polish Socialist Party
. Hence prior to World War II
, Wedel became a successful private company, with shops in London
and Paris
.
Jan Wedel made plans for World War II, and the company managed to continue production during the first few years of the war; it also started producing basic foodstuffs such as bread for starving Warsaw
, and was the site of the underground teaching
. Despite the family's German ancestry Wedel refused to collaborate with the Germans, and did not sign the Volksliste
; increasingly this led to him and his employees being persecuted by the Nazis. The war devastated Poland and the company; the buildings at Warsaw were destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising
. After the war, Wedel rebuilt the factory, only to have the communist government
nationalize
the company. The Wedel plant itself was renamed '22 Lipca' (22 July) after the Communist 'Independence Day' (PKWN Manifesto
), although even the communists chose to retain the Wedel brand name
, with products bearing both the new and old logos (particularly as after 10 years of not using the logo, all attempts at exporting proved futile). The company was reprivatized in 1989 after the fall of communism
in Poland. In 1991 it was bought by PepsiCo Foods and Beverages
, at which time sales were about $50-$60 million. In 1995 sales exceeded $200 million. About 10% of the products are exported, primarily to the United Kingdom
, United States
and Canada
. The Warsaw facility employed 1,100 workers in 1998.
Cadbury Schweppes made its initial investment in Poland in 1993, constructing a chocolate plant for its own products in Bielany Wrocławskie.
In 1999, Cadbury bought E.Wedel and the factory in Praga, from PepsiCo for US$
76.5 million. The Praga factory was modernised in 2007, with investment in both new laboratories and office space, as well as a new production line for the brand's flagship product Ptasie Mleczko
, a chocolate bar with a marshmallow
centre.
In 2007, as part of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone, Cadbury-Wedel Polska started building a £100m chewing gum
plant in Skarbimierz. It presently produces brands such as Trident, Stimorol, V6 and Hollywood. The company also acquired rights to an additional 60 acre (0.2428116 km²) plot which in 2009 it started to develop as a new chocolate facility, which would take over production of brands previously made at the Somerdale Factory
in Keynsham
, Bristol
from 2011. In 2008, Cadbury received the accolade of “Most Significant Investor in Poland” from the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.
In recent years the company has also branched out, opening a series of chocolate shops based on pre-war tradition.
acquired Cadbury plc. The European Commission insisted that Wedel be sold in order for the takeover to go ahead as a combined Kraft/Cadbury-Wedel would have too large a share of the Polish confectionery market. To satisfy this demand Wedel was sold to Lotte of Japan in June 2010. It is Lotte's first investment in Europe although they are the 3rd largest chewing gum maker in the world and are a large player in the Asian confectionery market. Kraft Foods have kept the rights to the Cadbury, Halls and other brands along with 2 plants manufacturing Cadbury products in Skarbimierz.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
company, producing many varieties of high-quality chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s, cakes, and snacks. Wedel is also a well-recognized brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of candy in Poland, considered by some to be the "Polish national 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.
In June 2010 Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
sold Wedel to Lotte Group
Lotte (conglomerate)
Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as...
of Japan as part of their enforced divestment program of certain parts of the Cadbury plc which it acquired in March 2010.
History
Founded in 1851 by Karol Ernest WedelKarol Wedel
Karol Ernest Wedel was a candy maker of German ancestry member of the Wedel family, who settled in Poland.He was faithful of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland....
(1813-1902), the company and its products became known in most of Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The logo of the company is based on Karol Wedel's signature. His son Emil Albert Fryderyk Wedel (1841-1919) apprenticed in candy and chocolate factories in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
before inheriting and expanding his father's business. His descendant Jan Wedel (d. 1960), the last member of the Wedel family to own the company, was considered "the Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka
This article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly...
" of pre-war Poland. In 1894 the company moved its main factory from Szpitalna street in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. In 1934, during the time of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Jan Wedel opened a second factory in Praga
Praga
Praga is a historical borough of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is located on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.- History :...
, one of the most modern in the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The company was also known for its very generous social welfare policies. As one of the first in Europe, it had its own creche
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
, kindergarten, hospital and cafeteria, and rewarded its best employees with no-interest housing loans; its model was highly acclaimed by the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
. Hence prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Wedel became a successful private company, with shops in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Jan Wedel made plans for World War II, and the company managed to continue production during the first few years of the war; it also started producing basic foodstuffs such as bread for starving Warsaw
Hunger Plan
The Hunger Plan was an economic management scheme that was put in place to ensure that Germans were given priority over food supplies, at the expense of everyone else. This plan was featured as part of the planning phase of the Wehrmacht invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941...
, and was the site of the underground teaching
Education in Poland during World War II
This article covers the topic of underground education in Poland during World War II. Secret learning prepared new cadres for the post-war reconstruction of Poland and countered the German and Soviet threat to exterminate the Polish culture....
. Despite the family's German ancestry Wedel refused to collaborate with the Germans, and did not sign the Volksliste
Volksliste
The Deutsche Volksliste was a Nazi institution whose purpose was the classification of inhabitants of German occupied territories into categories of desirability according to criteria systematized by Heinrich Himmler. The institution was first established in occupied western Poland...
; increasingly this led to him and his employees being persecuted by the Nazis. The war devastated Poland and the company; the buildings at Warsaw were destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
. After the war, Wedel rebuilt the factory, only to have the communist government
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
nationalize
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the company. The Wedel plant itself was renamed '22 Lipca' (22 July) after the Communist 'Independence Day' (PKWN Manifesto
PKWN Manifesto
The Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation known as July or PKWN Manifesto was a political manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, a Soviet-backed provisional government, which operated in opposition to the London-based Polish government in exile.It was...
), although even the communists chose to retain the Wedel brand name
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
, with products bearing both the new and old logos (particularly as after 10 years of not using the logo, all attempts at exporting proved futile). The company was reprivatized in 1989 after the fall of communism
Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
in Poland. In 1991 it was bought by PepsiCo Foods and Beverages
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, at which time sales were about $50-$60 million. In 1995 sales exceeded $200 million. About 10% of the products are exported, primarily to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Warsaw facility employed 1,100 workers in 1998.
Cadbury-Wedel Polska
In 1999, Cadbury bought E.Wedel and the factory in Praga, from PepsiCo for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
76.5 million. The Praga factory was modernised in 2007, with investment in both new laboratories and office space, as well as a new production line for the brand's flagship product Ptasie Mleczko
Ptasie mleczko
Ptasie mleczko ® , Ptichye Moloko , ptashyne moloko , which translates literally as "bird milk" , is a soft chocolate-covered candy filled with soft meringue...
, a chocolate bar with a marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
centre.
In 2007, as part of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone, Cadbury-Wedel Polska started building a £100m chewing gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
plant in Skarbimierz. It presently produces brands such as Trident, Stimorol, V6 and Hollywood. The company also acquired rights to an additional 60 acre (0.2428116 km²) plot which in 2009 it started to develop as a new chocolate facility, which would take over production of brands previously made at the Somerdale Factory
Somerdale Factory
Somerdale was a chocolate factory located in Keynsham near Bristol in south west England. It was the home of a Cadbury plc's production facility, and was originally built by the Fry family when they expanded through consolidation of a number of existing facilities located in the centre of...
in Keynsham
Keynsham
Keynsham is a town and civil parish between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, south-west England. It has a population of 15,533.It was listed in the Domesday Book as Cainesham, which is believed to mean the home of Saint Keyne....
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
from 2011. In 2008, Cadbury received the accolade of “Most Significant Investor in Poland” from the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.
In recent years the company has also branched out, opening a series of chocolate shops based on pre-war tradition.
Lotte Ownership
In March 2010 Kraft foodsKraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
acquired Cadbury plc. The European Commission insisted that Wedel be sold in order for the takeover to go ahead as a combined Kraft/Cadbury-Wedel would have too large a share of the Polish confectionery market. To satisfy this demand Wedel was sold to Lotte of Japan in June 2010. It is Lotte's first investment in Europe although they are the 3rd largest chewing gum maker in the world and are a large player in the Asian confectionery market. Kraft Foods have kept the rights to the Cadbury, Halls and other brands along with 2 plants manufacturing Cadbury products in Skarbimierz.
Popular products
- Ptasie MleczkoPtasie mleczkoPtasie mleczko ® , Ptichye Moloko , ptashyne moloko , which translates literally as "bird milk" , is a soft chocolate-covered candy filled with soft meringue...
- chocolate covered marshmallow - Delicje - a brand of Jaffa Cakes
- Mieszanka Wedlowska - assorted chocolate covered candy
- Torcik Wedlowski - a large, circular, chocolate covered wafer with hand-made decorations
- Pawełek - chocolate bar with a flavored filling that contains a small amount of alcohol
External links
- Christine Haughney, Poland's Sweet Comeback, Washington Post, Sunday, December 26, 2004; Page P04
- Tiffany, Susan, Wedel meets the demands of a market-driven Poland, Candy Industry, Wednesday, May 1 1996 Tadeusz Władysław Świątek, Fabryka Cukierków i Czekolady "E. Wedel", Jednota 15 06 2005