{"id":649884,"date":"2026-05-04T22:27:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T22:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/649884\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T22:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T22:27:31","slug":"150-million-chocolate-experience-proposal-approved-by-glenorchy-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/649884\/","title":{"rendered":"$150 million ‘chocolate experience’ proposal approved by Glenorchy council"},"content":{"rendered":"

A “chocolate experience” to be housed in a building inspired by foil chocolate wrappers has been approved by Glenorchy City Council’s planning authority.<\/p>\n

The $150 million proposal, which includes a chocolate lab, chocolate lounge, emporium and tasting opportunities, would be built at the Cadbury factory site in Claremont, Hobart’s northern suburbs.<\/p>\n

“The chocolate experience will undoubtedly be a major tourism drawcard, generating economic activity during both construction and through increased visitor numbers in the longer term,” Glenorchy Mayor Sue Hickey said.<\/p>\n

“The old chocolate factory shut down a decade ago, but even now, people still remember so fondly going and visiting.”\"People<\/p>\n

An artist’s impression of the central atrium of the proposed chocolate experience. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

Factory tours, which had been a popular visitor drawcard, were stopped at Cadbury in 2008 following changes to health and safety laws.<\/p>\n

Cadbury’s parent company, Mondelez International, closed the factory’s visitor centre in 2015.<\/p>\n

Councillor Hickey said she was looking forward to visiting the new attraction.<\/p>\n

“Everybody will be. All the locals will be queuing up \u2026 it’s going to be of international significance,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Many people fondly remember factory tours at Cadbury. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

The developers behind the chocolate experience proposal, Simon Currant & Associates, have said their proposal “will bring back to life one of Tasmania’s most beloved attractions: the Cadbury factory site at Claremont”.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the developers said the chocolate experience would attract more than 430,000 visitors a year.<\/p>\n

\"Concept<\/p>\n

The developers behind the chocolate experience say it “will bring back to life one of Tasmania’s most beloved attractions”. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

‘A reinvention of the chocolate factory’<\/p>\n

The inspiration for the building’s exterior came from foil chocolate wrappers.<\/p>\n

“Just as peeling back foil reveals a rich, indulgent centre, the interior of the Chocolate Experience offers a striking contrast to its outer shell,” project architects Cumulus Studio wrote in a report to the Glenorchy City Council.<\/p>\n

“Stepping inside, guests move from the building’s nondescript, reflective exterior into a hidden, sensory-rich world.”<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The facade of the proposed building takes its inspiration from foil chocolate wrappers. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

The Cumulus report says that the “visitor experience is envisaged as a three-hour ticketed visitor journey \u2026 blending storytelling, technology, and hands-on participation to create an active, sensorial journey for all ages”.<\/p>\n

“The journey begins in Chocolate Central, where a responsive LED whirlpool of virtual chocolate draws guests into the experience.<\/p>\n

“Augmented reality photo moments and multi-sensory ‘pipe satellites’ immerse visitors in sight, sound, aroma, taste, and touch before they continue deeper into the story of chocolate.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An artist’s impression of the central atrium of the proposed chocolate experience. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

Next, there would be a series of “immersive zones”.<\/p>\n

“The Tropical House evokes a twilight cacao forest with interactive viewfinders and projection columns that bring pollinators and wildlife to life, while the Laboratory invites hands-on exploration of chocolate-making through films, machines, and tactile exhibits, culminating in the vibrant Paint Your Flavour room.<\/p>\n

\"Concept<\/p>\n

Concept art for interior of the proposed Cacao Forest. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

“The playful Factory Control Room gamifies production, the Taste Kitchen serves as an ‘island of taste and sensation,’ and the Premium Chocolate Studio offers a close view of artisan chocolatiers at work.”<\/p>\n

Visitors would be able to extend their journey with “premium activations”, including a build your own chocolate bar workshop and 45-minute masterclasses.<\/p>\n

\"Concept<\/p>\n

Visitors will have the option of a 45-minute chocolate masterclass. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

There would also be a lounge, a cafe, and an emporium.<\/p>\n

“At its essence, the Cadbury Experience is a reinvention of the chocolate factory \u2014 a place where industry dissolves into imagination and where the pragmatic meets the poetic,” the Cumulus report reads.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An artist’s impression of the proposed chocolate lounge. (Supplied: Cumulus Studio)<\/p>\n

Originally, the proposal included plans for the world’s tallest chocolate fountain, which was first publicly announced during the 2024 Tasmanian election campaign when Premier Jeremy Rockliff promised $12 million in staged public funding for the developer, Simon Currant & Associates.<\/p>\n

The fountain, however, did not appear in plans lodged with the Glenorchy City Council in August last year.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The chocolate experience would be built next to the Cadbury factory at Claremont in Hobart’s northern suburbs. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)<\/p>\n

While the fountain and broader chocolate experience proposal was first made public in 2024, documents obtained under Right to Information showed it had been circulating within the State Growth Department for several years.<\/a><\/p>\n

Documents also showed the developer received two grants in 2022, totalling $150,000 \u2014 which were not publicly disclosed and were retrospectively placed under grant schemes \u2014 to help fund a demand study, update financial figures, and develop a public relations strategy.<\/p>\n

According to the Cumulus report, Mr Currant’s company took on the project in 2021 and commissioned a series of tourism demand studies in 2022.<\/p>\n

The developers plan to have the chocolate experience open late in 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A “chocolate experience” to be housed in a building inspired by foil chocolate wrappers has been approved by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,198353,30321,314278,314274,314277,2467,249,43036,314276,314279,314275,314280,53135],"class_list":["post-649884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-cadbury","tag-chocolate","tag-chocolate-factory","tag-chocolate-fountain","tag-claremont","tag-council","tag-experience","tag-factory","tag-glenorchy","tag-glenorchy-city-council","tag-simon-currant","tag-simon-currant-and-associates","tag-tasmanian-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}