Chocolate box classics are set to downsize before Christmas after several manufacturers announced plans to make their products smaller this year.
Weather conditions affecting global cocoa production have led to a spike in the price of bean, meaning the makers of festive favourites including Toblerone, Quality Street, and Celebrations are reducing the size of their products this year.
Boxes of Quality Street box and tubs of Mars’s Celebrations are shedding 50g in weight with Quality Street down to 550g from 600g, and Celebrations down to 500g from 550g. A Toblerone bar now weighs in at 340g, down from 360g.
The price of chocolate in stores has increased by 17.2 per cent in the year to July, according to the UK’s most recent official cost of living data.
A Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson said: “We know that the cost of living is front and centre for shoppers, particularly during the holidays, which is why we remain focused on providing great, high-quality snacks at the best possible value for money.
“We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can, but rising manufacturing costs - driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa - have meant that we’ve had to adjust some of our product sizes. It’s not a decision we take lightly, but it ensures families can still enjoy their favourite Celebrations without compromising on quality or taste."
Nestlé said the product size and recommended retail price for Quality Street were determined by several factors, including manufacturing, ingredients, and transport.
A spokesperson said: “We think our 2025 range and pricing is competitive with a good variety of choice for Quality Street fans. Final prices are at the discretion of individual retailers.”
Poor cocoa harvests in West Africa, including in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, are likely to continue for a third season, with another 10 per cent decline expected in 2025/2026.
Across the UK, customers continue to be asked to ‘pay more for less’ on food items, a practice known as “shrinkflation”. Research conducted by Compare the Market in 2024 revealed that items such as digestive biscuits, butter, crisps, and chocolate have all decrease in size while their unit cost has increased.
Last month, the daughter of the Freddo chocolate bar creator said her father would “roll over in his grave” if he saw the size of the chocolate today.
Leonie Wadin told Sky News that her father, Harry Melbourne, “was disgusted with how small it is now and how much they charge for it,” adding: "He'd roll over in his grave if he could see it now; he'd be disgusted. It was a penny chocolate.”
