Cadbury price strategy hits market share

Dairy Milk maker Cadbury Schweppes today said its share of the chocolate market suffered over Easter after it held back on price cuts.

The confectionery giant, which owns favourites such as Creme Egg and Green & Black’s organic chocolate, is under pressure from rising raw material costs.

“Our decision to limit our participation in aggressive seasonal Easter discounting has impacted our share,” the company said.

The company said it was “pleased” with its Easter performance despite an earlier holiday restricting the selling season, as UK revenues rose 3% in the three months to March.

A continued strong performance from gum brands such as Trident helped the overall group’s confectionery revenues grow 7%, and the firm maintained its revenue guidance for 2008.