Which Cadbury family member made a heart-shaped chocolate box for Valentine's Day in 1868?

Which Cadbury family member made a heart-shaped chocolate box for Valentine’s Day in 1868? Richard Cadbury made it.

Richard Barrow Cadbury was the second son of John Cadbury, who founded the family cocoa and chocolate business. Richard and his younger brother George took over the company in 1861 and helped redirect it toward chocolate products after the firm had struggled in the late 1850s.

In 1868, the company sold chocolates in heart-shaped boxes for Valentine's Day. The packaging linked confectionery with romance and helped establish a retail tradition that remains strongly associated with the holiday. The box was a product of the Cadbury company, but Richard is credited with commercialising this particular connection.

A common mix-up is choosing George Cadbury, who was Richard’s business partner and later became especially associated with Bournville and the company’s social reforms. John Cadbury founded the business, but the 1868 Valentine box is specifically attributed to Richard.