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The Great Chocolate Charade

Happy Easter from Gideon Hillman Consulting With Easter just around the corner, retailers have by now, received many deliveries of chocolate eggs, stocking an abundance of egg shaped chocolate treats, now proudly lining their store shelves.

The infamous Cadbury Crème Egg which made its debut back in 1923, has of course already made its eagerly awaited appearance in our stores. Upon the arrival of The Crème Egg, the festivities of Easter are officially in the air.

On best behaviour, children have high hopes that the elusive Easter bunny will reward them in the form of the gift of a delicious chocolate egg.

However, for some, the delightful story of this bountiful bunny it seems, is too tall a tale.

White, dark, milk, hollow, filled, elaborately decorated, honeycombed; there is a plethora of eggs, some which seem a little surplus to requirements, never the less, the choice is yours for the gorging.

But how on earth can just one Easter Bunny singlehandedly make, and deliver, all of these different eggs on time?

Just like the logistical-legend Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny’s supposedly rapid routine has roused suspicions, and questions have been raised concerning the help which the bunny must rely on, to make the magic of Easter happen; with an estimated 80 million chocolate eggs sold each year in the UK, they may not want to admit it, but the Easter Bunny is definitely getting help from somewhere.

In 2017, there were reports of Easter Eggs having been spotted in shops just before Christmas 2016. Sightings of the treasured Cadbury Creme egg and Mini eggs were reported in some supermarkets, from as early as19th Dec 2016!

Statistics from Cadbury reveal that during peak season, the Cadbury factory churns out somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5 million crème eggs per day; and according to Cadbury, more than 200 million crème eggs are sold every year in the UK alone.

But how does the Easter Bunny ensure that all of these eggs reach us in time for Easter and in some cases sooner?

The manufacture of Cadbury Products relies on eight manufacturing sites and three distribution centres alone, throughout the UK, to ensure Easter is delivered on time.

In addition to this, many Cadbury products are created in the UK, meaning shorter supply chains, and thus a shorter waiting time for their products to hit our retailers’ shelves.

According to this, the Easter Bunny is certainly not just putting all of our eggs into one basket.

As for other eggs, not produced so close to home, the key to quick confectionary production relies on the increase in automation of processes in the warehouse.

Brands, such as Nestle, make Easter eggs, which account for a third of all products produced. At peak times their facility can move up to 3,000 tonnes of goods each day, with a vehicle departing every eight and a half minutes; definitely conducive to helping the Easter Bunny deliver on time.

With UK distribution centres, and warehouse automation promoting automated Easter Egg production, the Easter Bunny it seems gets more than a helping hand, to ensure that Easter is delivered on time, in our stores and ultimately within the comfort of our own homes.

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