In the 19th century, Royal Doulton, the china maker, introduced hot chocolate cups, decorated with gold and nacre and fitted with lids to keep the beverage hot.

It was not until the industrialization of chocolate production in 1853 that chocolate became affordable for all levels of society. In England, "drinking" chocolate lasted until the early Victorian period, until solid or "eating" chocolate appeared.

The first people to take an interest in cocoa were apothecaries who focused on chocolate's medicinal properties. It was in this way that Fry's of Bristol and Terry's of York made their first forays into chocolate making.

In 1824 John Cadbury opened his first shop on Bull Street in Birmingham, where he manufactured his own chocolate until opening a factory on Bridge Street in 1847. His son George eventually took over the company, and in 1905 launched the first milk chocolate, which he called "Dairy Milk," as well as the dark "Bournville Plain" chocolate, named after the town where he set up his factory. To accompany tea, he created the first chocolate chip cookies.

Faced with the expansion of Cadbury chocolates, Fry and Sons joined with this major company in 1919, having produced its own eating chocolate in 1846, the Cream Bar in 1866, to be followed by Smarties in 1930. With the merger that created the Cadbury Schweppes group, an empire was created that would also acquire Poulain in 1989 and the firms of Trebor, Basset and Hueso in 1989.