The man who wanted the people to own a chocolate factory that would produce Cadbury’s Kiwi products has a new plan.
Mr O’Malley, a Dunedin city councillor, confirmed yesterday his crowdfunding venture "Own the Factory" was now focused on setting up a company to make quality craft chocolate.
And he still wants the people to own it.
Own the Factory received $6million in pledges before withdrawing its bid in June to take over the production of Cadbury’s Kiwi brands, including Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps, Buzz Bars and Pinky Bars, in Dunedin.
It did not have enough capital behind it to make a viable bid.
Mr O’Malley said his subsequent move was the next step towards rebuilding Dunedin’s chocolate-making industry.
"We are working on a business plan for this new company.
"We have had continued strong expressions of interest from would-be investors, but we won’t go back out to investors until we have a costed business plan to present."
He was working with Dunedin craft chocolate maker Otago Chocolate Company (Ocho) to see if the two enterprises could combine forces.
Ocho founder Liz Rowe said her company was already making chocolate in Dunedin and was committed to staying.
"We are still a small company, but our values and business objectives align with where the ‘Own the Factory’ campaign is headed."
Discussions were at the preliminary stage, but it seemed as though there could be real value in working together to make one strong company, she said.
Mr O’Malley said Dunedin was a good place in which to make chocolate, "which is why Cadbury was here in the first place, and we really want to see that continue".
A public meeting would be held at 4pm on August 13 at Age Concern in the Octagon, where he would provide an update on the proposal, he said.
