E. Wedel (pronunciation: ) is a Polish

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

company, which has been producing a variety of

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

s, cakes, and snacks since 1851. Wedel is also a well-recognized

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

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. In June 2010,

Kraft Foods Inc Kraft Foods Inc. () was a Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. Twelve of its brands annually earned more than $1 bill ...

sold Wedel to Lotte Group, a South Korean-Japanese conglomerate, as part of their enforced divestment program of certain parts of the Cadbury plc, which it had acquired in March 2010.

History

Founded in 1851 by Karl Ernst (Karol Ernest) Wedel (1813–1902), the company and its products became known in most of Central and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. The logo of the company is based on Emil Wedel's signature. His son Emil Albert Fryderyk Wedel (1841–1919) apprenticed in candy and chocolate factories in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

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 to Szpitalna street in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In 1930, during the time of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Jan Wedel opened a second factory in

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is 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 The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the e ...

, one of the most modern in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. The company was also known for its very generous social welfare policies. As one of the first in Europe, it had its own crèche, kindergarten, hospital and cafeteria, and rewarded its best employees with interest-free housing loans; its model was highly acclaimed by the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

. Hence prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wedel became a successful private company, with shops in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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.Historia Wedla
Despite the family's German ancestry Wedel refused to

collaborate Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, 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 The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. After the war, Wedel rebuilt the factory, only to have the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

nationalize the company. The Wedel plant itself was renamed '22 Lipca' (22 July) after the Communist 'Independence Day' (

PKWN Manifesto The Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, also known as the July Manifesto () or the PKWN Manifesto (), was a political manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a Soviet-backed administration, whi ...

), although even the communists chose to retain the Wedel

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

, 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 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Warsaw facility employed 1,100 workers in 1998.

Cadbury-Wedel Polska

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

made its initial investment in Poland in 1993, constructing a chocolate plant for its own products in

Bielany Wrocławskie Bielany Wrocławskie () is a village in the administrative district of Council Gmina Kobierzyce, within Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Village layout It lies approximately south-west of the Wrocław centr ...

. In 1999, Cadbury bought E. Wedel and the factory in Praga, from PepsiCo for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

76.5 million."PepsiCo sells Wedel's chocolate business" ''Candy Industry'', October 1, 1998
Retrieved on January 24, 2008. 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 candy with a

marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a confectionery made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicina ...

like centre. In 2007, as part of the

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; ; or ''Walmbrich''; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czec ...

Special Economic Zone, Cadbury-Wedel Polska started building a £100m

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

plant in Skarbimierz. It presently produces brands such as Trident, Stimorol, V6, and Hollywood. The company also acquired rights to an additional 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 Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located on the outskirts of the city of Bristol on the A4 that links the cities of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. It had a population of 19,603 at the 2021 Census. It was listed i ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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

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 South Korea in June 2010. This was Lotte's first investment in Europe although they are the 3rd largest chewing gum maker in the world and a large player in the Asian confectionery market. Kraft Foods have kept the rights to the Cadbury, Halls, and other brands along with two plants manufacturing Cadbury products in Skarbimierz.

Popular products

* Ptasie mleczko – chocolate covered marshmallow * Mieszanka Wedlowska – assorted chocolate covered candy with a variety of fillings * 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 * Krówka – individually wrapped milky cream fudge candy * Delicje Szampańskie – circular cookies with sponge base, mound of jam, and covered with chocolate (also known as Jaffa cakes)

References

* Mieczysław Kozłowski, ''The Story of E. Wedel. How Poland’s Chocolate History was Made'', Kraków 2004.

External links