Sweet-toothed Brits have been dealt yet another blow as Cadbury have quietly reduced the size of their Twirl multipacks – while selling them at the same price.
In yet another example of ‘shrinkflation’ to hit consumers, the packs, which originally contained ten bars, now contain just nine and have been reduced from 215g to 193.5g.
With the sweet treats typically retailing for £3, the cut means shoppers are now paying £1.55 per 100g, up from £1.40.
While manufacturer Mondelez International – who also own brands such as Daim, Oreo and Toblerone – has blamed the move on soaring cocoa and dairy prices, yet more customers in the UK are set to be left feeling short-changed.
Angry shoppers took to the comments of online grocery website, Ocado, to vent their frustrations at the change.
They said: ‘Fewer bars, same money. Outrageous.’
Their rating of just three stars out of five for the product was the same as another customer named Claire M, who also criticised the reduction.
She said: ‘[They are] lovely but there used to be ten. Shrinkflation.’
Sweet-toothed Brits have been dealt yet another blow as Cadbury have quietly reduced the size of their Twirl multipacks
The packs, which previously contained ten bars now contain just nine
The cut means shoppers are now paying £1.55 per 100g, up from £1.40, with the sweet treats typically retailing for £3
The move comes less than a month after we told how Twirl multipacks now only contained three bars instead of four – while Cadbury’s price remained unchanged.
The iconic chocolate-maker reduced the size of four ranges of sharing bags by almost ten per cent.
Bags of Crunchie Rocks, Bitsa Wispa and Oreo Bites also shrunk from 110g to 100g, while a Cadbury Twirl Bites bag is now 100g, down from 109g.
However, they are still being sold at major retailers for the same price – £1.75.
This has seen many customers use the term ‘shrinkflation’, used when brands sell products at a reduced size for the same price as before.
Also on sale in bags as much as ten per cent smaller than before are sharing packs made by Cadbury’s rival Mars Wrigley.
Cadbury have quietly reduced the size of their Twirl multipacks while selling them at the same price
Photos showed the new three-packs selling for the same price as the previous four-packs
Manufacturer Mondelez International – who also own brands such as Daim, Oreo and Toblerone – has blamed the move on soaring cocoa and dairy prices
Galaxy Minstrels are down from 125g to 118g with peanut M&M’s reduced from 125g to 112g, and Maltesers down from 102g to 93g.
The changes were spotted by ‘retail influencer’ and Grocery Insight CEO Steve Dresser at a Tesco store.
Sharing images of the new, reduced sizes on X, he wrote: ‘Shrinkflation in Cadbury’s. Down to 100g. Always suspicious of ‘new’ lines in sharing bags…..’
Ironically, Mr Dresser pointed out that Tesco was still selling the larger, discontinued packs in its ‘reduced to clear’ section for a lower price than before – £1.49.
In the run-up to Easter, it has been predicted that chocolate-makers may even reduce the cocoa content of their products.
‘The cocoa crisis is very clear,’ Andy O’Brien, commercial director for pricing research consultancy EPIC Conjoint, told Confectionary News last month.
Galaxy Minstrels are down from 125g to 118g with peanut M&M’s reduced from 125g to 112g, and Maltesers down from 102g to 93g
The Galaxy Minstrels Easter Egg was last year cut from 234g to 192g
‘The supply is not going to recover quickly enough.’
He said manufacturers were ‘facing a conundrum of: How do I change my products from a cost perspective?’
But he warned that in the midst of a cost of living crisis and public awareness of ‘shrinkflation’, manufacturers were ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ due to the negative response to reducing pack sizes.
Over the festive period last year, Spin Genie UK analysed Britain’s four main chocolate selection boxes to reveal how they have decreased in size over the last 15 years.
Heroes, Celebrations, Roses and Quality Street are priced at approximately £6 across major UK supermarkets.
Back in 2009, the boxes came with a heftier price tag, costing around £10 each.
The team at Spin Genie UK analysed Britain’s four main chocolate selection boxes – Heroes, Celebrations, Roses and Quality Street – to reveal how they have decreased in size over the last 15 years
While today’s tubs may seem more affordable, they offer less chocolate per pound than in the past.
In 2009, across all tubs combined, the average weight per pound was 101.25g, whereas, in 2024, this was 93.25g.
This year, the weight of Heroes and Celebrations stands at 550g, with Quality Street coming in slightly heavier at 600g.
In comparison to 15 years ago, Heroes (975g), Celebrations (975g) and Quality Street (1000g), have declined by 43.5 per cent, 43.5 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.
Cadbury’s Roses weighed 1100g in 2009, and now weighs just 550g, meaning the beloved chocolate tub has reduced in size by 50 per cent in just 15 years.
If you buy a Roses tub for £6 you can expect 52 chocolates inside.
This makes the price per Roses chocolate 11.53p – the most expensive option.
In comparison, the Heroes selection box contains approximately 59 chocolates (10.17p per chocolate) and Celebrations contains around 60 chocolates (10p per chocolate).
The cheapest option is Quality Street which offers around 65 chocolates for 9.23p per piece.
MailOnline has approached Mondelez International for comment.
