BRITAIN’S favourite chocolates are getting smaller but pricier, as new research reveals how festive treats have shrunk by up to a quarter in size.
Since 2021, the price per 100g of popular chocolate assortments has surged, according to new analysis from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit.
One of the biggest offenders was Mars, who has shrunk the size of its Celebrations tubs by 23% over the past four years.
Earlier this year, the chocolate maker slashed the size of its iconic red tub from 550g to 500g – equal to a reduction of around five sweets.
And last Christmas, the tubs featuring miniature pieces of Twix, Milkyway and Bounty, were reduced in size from 600g to 550g.
At the time the manufacturer blamed “increases in the cost of cocoa”.
But prices are up by a whopping 88%, with a 500g tub now costing anywhere from £4.50 to £7 depending on where you shop.
Cadbury’s Roses have increased in price up to 95% since 2021, but sized down by up to 17%.
Meanwhile, Quality Street is up 59% in price, but has fallen in size by 15%.
And Terry’s Chocolate Orange – a Christmas stocking staple – has seen its price per 100g increase by 116% since 2021, while shrinking 8% in size.
Over the years, the rising cost of manufacturing and ingredients has meant shoppers are getting less bang for their buck when they buy festive chocolate tubs.
Chris Jaccarini, food and farming analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “Climate change is making the family politics of who gets what from the big tub of chocolates that little bit more fraught this year, as boxes shrink and prices climb.
“From chocolate to sugar to dairy, the ingredients in our festive favourites are being hit by extreme heat, floods and disease outbreaks across the world.”
A Nestlé spokesperson said: “Each year we introduce a new Quality Street range with formats, sizes, weights and RRPs based on a range of factors including the cost of manufacturing, ingredients and transport and the preferences of our customers and consumers”
A Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson said: “We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can, but rising manufacturing costs – driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa – have meant that we’ve had to adjust the size of our Celebrations tubs.”
The Sun has approached Cadbury and Carambar & Co for comment.
To avoid paying through the nose for your festive treats take advantage of loyalty card offers and use price comparison sites such as Price Spy to spot the best deal.
Deal expert Tom Church previously told The Sun the best way to beat size reductions was to look for cut-price deals, such as multi-buy offers in the supermarkets or Nectar and Clubcard prices.
Shrinking chocolate
All major manufacturers are shrinking the size of their treats to help combat rising material costs.
Earlier this year, it was discovered that Cadbury cut the size of multipacks of its Brunch bars from five to four.
Instead, a four-bar pack is now on shelves for the same average price of £1.50.
It means the bars – a staple of school lunchboxes – are, in effect, 20% worse value.
Cadbury also reduced packs of Freddos from five to four and Cadbury Dairy Milk multipacks were cut from nine bars to seven.
More recently, the brand slashed the size of it’s Dairy Milk Little Bars multipacks by a third.
How to save money on chocolate
We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
