Consumer watchdog Which? has been looking into which festive treats have been affected by ‘shrinkflation’ – when grocery items shrink in size, but the price remains the same or increases – ahead of Christmas 2024.
Which? compared the size and price of a range of festive products from October 2023 to October 2024 and found a number of examples of shrinkflation which could see shoppers paying more for less this Christmas.
Stocking up on Christmas treats?
We reveal the Christmas dinner staples and popular sweet treats that have shrunk 👇 https://t.co/a5aC5E3QT7
— Which? (@WhichUK) December 10, 2024
Which chocolates have shrunk this festive season?
Chocolates seem to have been the worst affected by shrinkflation, according to Which?.
The chocolates that have shrunk in size since last year, while the price has remained the same or increased, include:
- Cadbury’s Mini Snowballs (family-sized bag) – shrunk in size from from 296g to 270g. Price increase of 30% per 100g.
- Cadbury’s medium Santa selection box – 145g to 125g (14% smaller). Biggest price increase per 100g: 59% at Morrisons (it cost the same at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose this year).
- Cadbury’s Buttons selection box – 375g to 340g (9% smaller). Biggest price increase per 100g: 19% at Sainsbury’s.
- Celebrations tub – shrunk in size from 600g to 550g (8% smaller). Biggest price increase per 100g: 45% price increase at Asda (it cost the same at several other supermarkets this year).
- Quality Street chocolates – the purple hazelnut sweet is 12% smaller and the orange one is 4% smaller. The net weight of the 600g tub remains the same though.
- Nestlé’s Dairy Box ‘Winter Collection’ – Now contains 36 chocolates instead of 40, and only contains eight different chocolates instead of 10. Yet it cost £2 more in Asda stores (price stayed the same in Tesco and Sainsbury’s).
- Nestlé’s Dairy Box (small cartons) – 16 chocolates instead of 20, but the price has stayed the same.
- Nestlé’s Dairy Box ‘Classic Collection’ – 32 chocolates instead of 40.
Why are products shrinking?
“Shrinking pack sizes allow food and drink manufacturers to cut costs without increasing prices (although sometimes they do both),” Which? explained.
Shrinkflation has become more common since food prices soared in 2022.
Despite food inflation being at its lowest rate in three years, according to the consumer watchdog, the price of chocolate continues to rise.
This is due, in part, to poor harvests in West Africa driving up the cost of cocoa.
According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), chocolate prices continue to climb.
Discontinued UK chocolates and sweets
Which? said: “The average price of a bag of chocolates went up by 10% in the 12 months to October, while the cost of a milk chocolate bar rose by 8% on average.”
Manufacturers have their say
Manufacturers have had their say as to the reasoning behind the shrinking chocolates.
A Nestlé spokesperson, speaking to Which?, said: “Like every manufacturer, we have experienced significant cost increases making it much more expensive to manufacture our products.
“We have been working to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible.
“However, in order to maintain the same high quality and delicious taste that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the weight of some of our products. Retail pricing is always at the sole discretion of individual retailers.”
“This means people are still getting the same amount of delicious Quality Street product they know and love – just in a slightly different format.”
A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley UK, which makes Celebrations, said: “We are actively looking at ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations as we know the increase in the cost of living is impacting consumers and businesses across the UK.
“Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done.
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“Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary for shoppers to still be able to enjoy their favourite Celebrations treats without compromising on quality or taste.’
The spokesperson added: “As we continue our journey to find solutions which have lower environmental impact, we have also examined our packaging and have decided to reduce the size of the tub itself.
“This move has seen us reduce the plastic used in the packaging by 17%, which aligns with our sustainability targets as a business and helps reduce the environmental impact of our packaging.”
