As Dunedin's Cadbury factory prepares shut its doors with the loss of about 300 jobs, an Australian chocolate company has struck a deal with Nestle to produce an Aussie favourite.
The much-loved Violet Crumble chocolate bar is back in Australian hands after an Adelaide business signed a deal with the food giant to acquire the brand.
The agreement, announced today, would bring 30 new jobs and a $A4 million ($NZ4.3 million) upgrade for South Australian manufacturer Robern Menz.
The company was aided by a $A750,000 state government Future Jobs Fund grant and a $A900,000 loan from the Investment Attraction Agency.
Violet Crumble is similar to New Zealand's Crunchie bar.
In October last year it was annnounced by Mondelez International that production for Cadbury confectionery in Dunedin, New Zealand, would be moving to Australia.
Mondelez International confirmed the closure of the Dunedin factory in February last year, telling its staff 200 people would be made redundant by the end of 2017 and 100 people would remain with the business until early this year.
The company said "hundreds of hours" had been spent to try to find a workable solution for a potential local manufacture, but it was now focusing on shifting production across the Tasman.
Efforts to keep the production of some Cadbury products, including pineapple lumps and jaffas, were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the Otago Chocolate Company is on the verge of signing a lease on a large waterfront building in Dunedin, as plans to expand the crowd-funded business fall into place.
In November last year, Ocho's Pledge Me drive raised the maximum $2 million allowable within two days of being launched.
The campaign was originally created to buy the closing Cadbury factory, for which $5.8 million was pledged, but this also failed.
- AAP and ODT
