Price of eggs hits Cadbury

Cadbury Schweppes today reported a disappointing Easter after customers were turned off by the price of eggs.

The Birmingham-based confectionery giant, which owns favourites such as Creme Egg and Dairy Milk, scrapped plans to offer discounts on its eggs because it was under pressure from rising raw material costs.

Many customers turned to cheaper rivals, hitting sales of traditional Cadbury products.

A company spokesman said: "Our decision to limit our participation in aggressive seasonal Easter discounting has impacted our share."

But Cadbury said it was generally "pleased" with its Easter performance despite an earlier holiday restricting the selling season, as UK revenues rose three per cent in the three months to March.

A continued strong performance from gum brands such as Trident, together with the relaunch of the Wispa bar, helped the overall group's confectionery revenues grow seven per cent.

Cadbury has launched a new UK advert, featuring racing airport trucks, in a bid to follow last year's gorilla drumming to Phil Collins, which became a cult hit.

But the flooding of its Sheffield factory in last summer's downpours - where Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts and Trebor mints are made - continues to impact its share of the UK confectionery market.

The company is also in the process of shedding 200 jobs at Bournville and closing its factory in Keynsham near Bristol, with the loss of 500 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Australian branch of Cadbury Schweppes today lost a court bid to ban a local competitor from using purple in its packaging and marketing.

Cadbury had claimed in Sydney's Federal Court that purple was integral to its image and that its use by family-owned Darrell Lea was misleading and deceptive conduct that could cause customers to mistakenly grab the wrong bar.