THE GREAT SELECTION BOX RIP-OFF
...but Cadbury isn’t lowering the price
IT’S been a traditional sound on Christmas morning for generations: the ‘rustle and munch’ of selection boxes being ripped open and shared.
This year, however, sweet-lovers will be getting less chocolate in their boxes... for the same amount of money.
Confectionery giant Cadbury is shrinking products in three popular selection boxes, while prices remain the same.
The net weight of three packs, the Freddo Selection Box, Medium Selection Box and Cadbury Stocking, is going down, but the cost of the overall product will remain unchanged.
A spokesperson for Cadbury said the decision to shrink the boxes was caused by changing the mix of chocolates contained in each selection.
She pointed out that the weight of the Small Selection Box has increased by 14 grammes, and said prices will not be changed as the number of products in each pack remains the same, even if the overall weight is lighter.
‘This year we have updated the range available within our selection boxes to improve the mix and offer more of a variety for our fans,’ she said.
‘This has meant that the weights of our products have changed and, while some have increased in size, some have decreased as a result but the number of products in each pack remains the same. The RRP has therefore also remained the same.’
The Dairy Milk Freddo and Crunchie bars have been removed from the Freddo selection box, and a Dairy Milk bar and packet of Dairy Milk Buttons added, bringing the overall weight down from 154g to 139g.
The Medium Selection Box has lost its Fudge and Dairy Milk bars, but gained a Dairy Milk Oreo and Wispa, changing the weight from 180g to 169g.
And the Cadbury Stocking lost the Fudge and Caramel bars and the Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations in place of a Double Decker, Twirl and Dairy Milk Oreo, reducing the weight from 208g to 195g.
So-called ‘shrinkflation’ is on the up as shoppers have seen their favourite brands of chocolate shrink across the board in recent years, with prices remaining mostly unchanged.
A Mars bar used to weigh 62.5g but now weighs in at just 51g, a drop in size of around 18%.
The Wispa bar is another victim of shrinkflation, dropping from 39g to 36g, while KitKats have shrunk from 50g to 41.5g.
It’s not just at the weigh-in that chocolate has been affected, with Yorkie bars losing a whole chunk. The bar originally contained six squares and weighed 70g, but now has five and weighs 41.5g.
Toblerone made headlines last year when Mondelez International, the company that also owns Cadbury, increased the gap size between the triangles.
In a statement, the company blamed rising costs, saying: ‘We had to make a decision between changing the shape of the bar and raising the price.’
Maltesers, M&M’s and Minstrels also all reduced the sizes of some products in the past year.
Changing mix of chocolates