We all know that the past year has been incredibly tough on the high street, with shops having to close their doors with little warning, and some for good. According to a report from business insurance firm Simply Business, small businesses in the UK have lost nearly £69 Billion in sales alone – while two fifths of shops have closed or are in threat of permanently closing*.

Cadbury started out as a single shop on Birmingham’s Bull Street in 1824. So, when a chocolate shop in Birmingham just a stone’s throw away from the site of the original Cadbury store, was forced to shut its premises after 18 years of trading, the team at Cadbury couldn’t help but feel they wanted to help out in some small way. So, next time you fancy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury is encouraging everyone to buy a treat from their local high street independent chocolate shop instead. Hopefully, if everyone plays their part, we can ensure that the vibrant and varied chocolate industry that Brits have come to know and love, thrives #ForTheLoveOfChocolate.

As a mark of solidarity with these six independent chocolatiers, Cadbury is changing its most famous advert; Mum’s Birthday, on TV, outdoors advertising and YouTube for 2 weeks to feature the partners’ branding instead, replacing its Cadbury Dairy Milk; an activation that would have ordinarily required an advertising budget of almost half a million pounds. It’s a small way for Cadbury to shine a light on its fellow chocolatiers and all for the love of chocolate.

Cadbury is also giving away 2,000 products of the finest chocolate; a variety selected from all six partners will be available from the 4th of May. So, if chocolate fans would like to sample chocolate from Hill Street in Essex; Chouchoute in Birmingham; Choc on Choc in Bath; Melange in London; Cocoa Amore in Leicester, or Cocoa Cabana in Manchester, they just need to visit cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk to claim their free independent chocolate, courtesy of Cadbury!

Isabelle Alaya from Melange comments “We are delighted to be partnering with Cadbury to shine a light on our business and those of other independent chocolate shops up and down the country, all for the love of chocolate! Through Cadbury’s generosity, we’re hopeful that people will be inspired to do their part to help the high street thrive once again.”

Cadbury is delighted to join the line-up of recent goodwill gestures from big brands that have recognized the support they can provide to small businesses who have fallen on challenging times over the past 12 months. There really is a glass and a half in everyone.

Colin O’Toole, Associate Director Marketing Cadbury UK & Ireland at Mondelez says, “We are proud to be supporting local chocolatiers across the UK. As a nation, we’ve always been lucky to have a thriving chocolate scene, full of variety and creativity; and at Cadbury, we of course understand what it’s like to start out as a small independent chocolate shop. So, we wanted to take the opportunity to support our fellow chocolatiers and ask the nation to do the same. After all, it’s all for the love of chocolate!”

So next time you fancy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk, why not buy a bar of chocolate from a local, independent chocolate shop instead? #ForTheLoveOfChocolate.

Visit Cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/fortheloveofchocolate for further information and a link to all six partner chocolatiers.