Shake-up after Shapes shift
The people’s voices have been heard. Arnott’s pizza and barbecue Shapes will revert back to their original flavourings.
The original flavours had already returned in multi-packs, Shapes New Zealand brand manager Tim Meyer said.
In September, the biscuit manufacturer U-turned on its decision to introduce new barbecue/pizza flavours in Australia. At the time, Arnott’s New Zealand said the original flavours would not return.
But in the past few weeks, Shapes New Zealand has started bringing back the original flavours. ’’We’re still monitoring the situation,’’ Meyer said.
An announcement was expected to be made in March 2017 that all pizza and barbecue shapes would revert to the original recipe.
Shapes fan Jessica Williams started a petition asking Arnott’s to bring the originals back.
The Arnott backdown was a victory for the people, she said.
‘‘If you consider what we’ve already lost, we’ve lost Tangy Fruits, Snifters, at least we’ve won this one,’’ she said.
As a Shapes fan for many years, Williams said she couldn’t bear to eat the new Barbecue Shapes.
‘‘Revolting, they just tasted like sadness, like a pale imitation of the barbecue shapes we knew and loved. It would be like giving a starving dog a rubber bone,’’ Williams said.