Cadbury campaign tops $3 million

The man behind a drive to save Kiwi-made Cadbury products reckons he might have a Pineapple Lump or two if he can save the iconic lollies.

More than $3.2 million had been pledged to the campaign yesterday morning, with pledges ’’going up between $80,000 and $100,000 an hour’’, said Jim O’Malley, the man behind Dunedin Manufacturing Holdings (DMH).

The volunteer group wants to raise $20m to keep production of some of Cadbury’s famous Kiwi brands – including Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps, Buzz Bars and Pinky bars – in the country.

It has lodged an expression of interest with Mondelez International, the company behind the brand, for third-party production of its New Zealand products. This comes after Mondelez announced it would stop making Cadbury products in Dunedin in March 2018, with the loss of 350 jobs.

Since DMH’s plan was launched on Wednesday, $1.2m was raised in the first 24 hours, and $1.8m in the following 24 hours.

O’Malley, a former pharmaceutical executive and current Dunedin city councillor, aimed to raise at least $5m from small investors, but had less than a fortnight to do so.

He thought the pledges would be from Dunedin, but they were from all over the country ‘‘proportional to the population’’.

‘‘It is not just the product, they love the concept. A New Zealandowned entity making a New Zealand iconic product.’’

O’Malley was volunteering his own time and expected the role to be demanding over the next month.

He was confident pledges were bona fide and was also being approached by people who had no internet but wanted to invest. That included an elderly Dunedin resident who was a ‘‘person of means’’ who wanted to support the plan.

People could make pledge on OwnTheFactory.co.nz until June 21.