First they came for the Polly Waffle. Then they tinkered with the size of Killer Pythons. And now they are coming for the chocolate encasing the gooey faux yoke of the Cadbury’s Creme Egg.
It remains to be seen whether this latest controversy perpetrated by a confectionery company will cause an uprising in Australia, although the reaction so far in the northern hemisphere has the faint whiff of revolution.
Cadbury, now housed within a company called Mondelez International since being gobbled up like a Fruit & Nut Dairy Milk by Vegemite-tinkering US conglomerate Kraft, has changed the “formulation” of the Creme Egg’s chocolate.
Instead of Dairy Milk chocolate, the shell of each 39g Creme Egg will now be made of “a standard, traditional Cadbury milk chocolate for its shell”, according to a company spokeswoman.
“We carried out consumer testing ahead of this recipe and the 2015 recipe proved more popular with consumers,” she said.
Reassuringly, the spokeswoman dismissed more radical hypotheticals that the product would no longer be egg-shaped or become some sort of savoury pie or vegetable concoction by adding: “The fundamentals of the Cadbury Creme Egg remain exactly the same – delicious milk chocolate and the unique creme centre that consumers love.”
Australia’s Creme Eggs are made domestically or imported from the UK, depending on consumer demand, the company said.
Those hankering for the original Dairy Milk taste will have to gorge themselves upon the unchanged Mini Creme Eggs, the rather unsatisfactory diminutive that should only be deployed at an Easter egg hunt for very small children.
Where will this recipe change rank among the seismic events that have hit Australian confectionery? Is it bigger than the comeback of Yowies, 10 years after they vanished from Australian shelves?
Is it bigger than the survival of Darrell Lea, the renaming (for obvious reasons) of Fags, the decision to offshore the production of Paddle Pops to China or the case of the Freddo Frog one?
The demise of the Monaco bar proved utterly intolerable, with a petition prompting its return in 2008. Our very own Ben Doherty calls himself a “passionate advocate” for the Monaco’s triumphant comeback.
At least we can be consoled that the Creme Egg isn’t being shrunk in size by 11% while the price remains the same, as the Mars Bar did in 2009. Nor does it carry advertising that demands it only be consumed by men, as Yorkie and Snickers have done in Britain.
We will intently watch to see how the new Creme Egg performs, given the crunch Easter period is around the corner.
