1846
Jean-Romain Lefevre opens a bakery in Nantes, France. His products are an immediate success with the local citizens – and LU was born.
1872
The first cream cheese is made in New York by an American dairyman William Lawrence, and is named Philadelphia in 1880.
1879
55 years after John Cadbury opened his first grocer’s shop in Birmingham, England, Richard and George Cadbury started creating their ‘Factory in a Garden’ in Bournville, just outside the city. We’re still making Cadbury chocolate there today.
1893
The Hall brothers start manufacturing soaps and jams, before soon turning to caramels and candies. It wasn’t until the 1930s that Halls started to produce their popular cough drops.
1901
A doubly memorable year! Not only was the Nabisco name first used with the introduction of Nabisco sugar wafers, the year also saw the first production of Milka.
1903
James L. Kraft begins a wholesale cheese business in Chicago, Illinois. By 1914, the company opens its first plant and begins manufacturing its own cheese.
1908
Theodore Tobler, Swiss chocolate maker, introduces the Toblerone honey and almond nougat chocolate bar. In 1969, it became available in bittersweet, dark chocolate and is still made in its home town of Berne today.
1912
Oreo sandwich cookies are introduced in the US, made in Chelsea, Manhattan – but it took another 95 years for the cookies to launch in the UK market.
1934
Ritz crackers are first introduced by the National Biscuit Company – and their one-of-a-kind buttery taste is now enjoyed across the globe.
1957
After two years’ research, General Foods Corporation introduces Tang instand orange-flavoured breakfast beverage in US test markets. It’s now sold in around 35 countries worldwide.
1964
Trident patents sugar-free gum after a soft launch of Trident gum with sugar in 1960. Its slogan is: ‘The Great Taste that Is Good for Your Teeth’.
1998
belVita was first launched in 1998 as LU Petit Dejeuner in France – they can now be found in more than 50 countries. If all the belVita biscuits we make each year were laid end to end, it would wrap the world 62 times at the equator!
2000
Kraft Foods acquired the Nabisco business in December 2000. Today, Nabisco’s brands include some of the best-known cookies and crackers in the world, including Chips Ahoy!, Oreo and Ritz.
2012
History is complete, the future starts here. Two years after acquiring Cadbury plc, Kraft Foods spins off its North America grocery business and changes its corporate name… to Mondelēz International, a company with delicious brands, fantastic people and exciting plans.