J. S. Fry & Sons
Advertisement for the 1878 Paris Exposition | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Private (1761–1919) |
| Industry | Confectionery |
| Founded | 1761 in Bristol |
| Founder | Joseph Fry |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Fate |
|
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | Joseph Storrs Fry II |
| Products | Chocolate |
| Brands | |
| Parent | Cadbury (1919–2010) |
J. S. Fry & Sons, Ltd. was a British chocolate company owned by Joseph Storrs Fry and his family. Beginning in Bristol in 1761, the business went through several changes of name and ownership, becoming J. S. Fry & Sons in 1822. In 1847, Fry's produced what is often considered the first solid chocolate bar. The company also created the first filled chocolate sweet, Cream Sticks, in 1853. Fry is most famous for Fry's Chocolate Cream, the first mass-produced chocolate bar, which was launched in 1866, and Fry's Turkish Delight, launched in 1914.
Fry, alongside Cadbury and Rowntree's, was one of the big three British confectionery manufacturers throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, and all three companies were founded by Quakers. The company became a division of Cadbury in the early 20th century. The division's Somerdale Factory near Bristol was closed after the 2010 takeover of Cadbury's by Kraft Foods Inc.