Business
Cadbury drops $150M chocolate park on Hobart waterfront
Cadbury is spending $150 million to open a chocolate visitor hub in Hobart, Tasmania. The facility combines a tasting lab, a build‑your‑own‑bar studio and a retail emporium, creating ticket, retail and food‑service revenue streams. By anchoring the brand in a high‑traffic tourism market, Cadbury aims to boost conversion rates, diversify its sales mix and provide a replicable model for other legacy brands seeking experiential growth.
Cadbury Chocolate Experience will become one of the largest tourism developments in Tasmania, as a planned $150 million visitor attraction at the historic Cadbury factory, situated on waterfront property at Claremont north of Hobart, will continue to development.
Tourism developer Simon Currant & Associates is working with Cadbury owner Mondelez International, turning part of the waterfront precinct into a chocolate manufacturing attraction complete with experiences, a tasting section, a shop and public areas, in a deal where planning approvals have been granted. The attraction is currently slated to open in late 2028.
The move by developers comes as Tasmania's tourism sector continues to deliver results. Tourism Tasmania data show the state received around 1.39 million visitors during the 12 months to December 2025, while tourist expenditure on their visit reached a record $3.71 billion.
Strong growth in tourism to the state supports major investment in development of infrastructure and attractions, in response to increasing visitor demand for attractions linked to well-known consumer brands that allow tourists to engage with the stories and processes behind popular products, in a reflection of a global trend.
The proposal plans to include interactive chocolate-making processes, a tasting area, public exhibition spaces, a café and restaurant, and a refurbished waterfront area with viewing spaces, aiming to draw visitors into a previously off-limits area of the long-standing Cadbury factory.
The developers estimate that when operating, the Cadbury Chocolate Experience could draw over 430,000 visitors to Tasmania each year, making the destination one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state.
Tourism continues to be a major part of the state economy; with figures showing it accounts for some 50,800 jobs, directly contributing $4.5 billion to the state economy each year in both direct and indirect economic activity.
The decision to develop a Cadbury Chocolate Experience is part of a growing global trend across tourism markets of establishing destination based attractions for consumer brands in order to expand revenue streams and engage more deeply with visitors.
Similar chocolate manufacturing and retail visitor experiences can be found operating in the USA, the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, in the shape of a growing number of food and beverage and manufacturing brand tourism attractions across many parts of the world, linking brands directly to visitor experiences of production and consumption of their products.
For Tasmania the Cadbury Chocolate Experience will be a major additional tourism infrastructure asset to complement existing and upcoming developments as it looks to draw greater interstate and international visitor numbers, while also seeking to attract longer staying visitors and encourage increased visitor expenditure around Tasmania.
FAQs
Q1. When is Cadbury’s Hobart chocolate hub scheduled to open?
The facility is slated to welcome visitors in July 2025, timed with Tasmania’s peak tourism season.
Q2. What components will the Hobart attraction include?
It will feature a tasting lab, a build‑your‑own‑bar studio and a chocolate emporium retail space.
Q3. How much is Cadbury investing in the Hobart project?
Cadbury has allocated $150 million from its global capital budget for the development.
Q4. What regulatory steps must builders consider for similar projects in Tasmania?
Builders need to secure environmental impact assessments and heritage clearances as part of the local planning approval process.
Source: The West
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