Cadbury swallows Green & Black's

GREEN & Black's, which sells organic chocolate based on cocoa grown by the Mayan Indians in Belize, has been sold to Cadbury Schweppes for about £20m.

The deal reflects more sophisticated tastes and greater health consciousness among chocolate buyers. It will also make a small fortune for its founder Craig Sams and directors William Kendall, Nick Beart, Henry Tinsley and Andreas Hoffmann.

G&B's chief executive Kendall, who is staying on after the deal, says: 'Britain is embracing dark chocolate for the first time, just as we discovered wine 20 years ago.'

Sams and his wife Josephine Fairley got the idea on a South American holiday after sampling a cocoa drink made by the Indians. Sams previously ran a macrobiotic restaurant and founded Whole Earth Foods.

Sales of Green & Black's bars have been growing fast. Group sales soared 69% to £22.4m in the year to February. A year earlier the group reported sales of £13m and losses of £671,000.

It has expanded into ice cream, biscuits, drinking chocolate and Easter eggs and now sells in supermarkets as well as organic outlets. Much of the cocoa still comes from the Mayans.

Cadbury first bought a 5% stake in 2002. Chief executive Todd Stitzer plans to market it as a separate brand.

Shares in the confectionery giant, which ran up this week on talk of a bid from US food groups Hershey or Kraft, fell 2p to 556p.