Cadbury's chocolate bars facing further cuts to their size

Cadbury's chocolate bars facing further cuts to their size



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The crisp manufacturer behind Hula Hoops has reportedly shrunk the size of the snack - and they're now too big to fit on your fingers.

The crisp packet, which weighed 35g five years ago, is now just 34g and the price has increased from 42p to 60p.

Walkers is also about to increase the price of its 34g bag from 50p to 55p.



Walkers blames 'fluctuating exchange rates' since the Brexit vote for its price hike, according to The Sun.

Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury has also signalled that famous name products are set to shrink again in response to rising costs.



The company has come under fire for cutting the amount of chocolate in some Toblerone bars and the number of crème eggs in a multi-pack from six to five.

However, the tactic is likely to be repeated as the confectionery giant’s American owner, Mondelez, looks to cut costs.



Where the firm cannot get away with shrinking products, price rises are in the pipeline.

For example, the company is increasing the price on its already tiny 18g Freddo bars by 20 per cent, taking them up from 25p to 30p.

Meanwhile, sweets company Mars is shrinking the pack size of beloved treats including Maltesers, M&M’s and Minstrels by up to 15 per cent, according to The Observer.

Mars has reduced the number of Maltesers in its sharing bags - since last autumn packs of Maltesers have shrunk from 121g to 93g.



Family packs of M&M's have also shrunk from 165g to just 140g.

Glenn Caton, who is in charge of Cadbury in Britain, said the company will have to make changes if it faces higher costs due to the Brexit vote and the fall in the value of the pound, which has had raw material costs more expensive.

He told the Guardian there are looming challenges on cost and commodities – not all linked to Brexit – and that the company would have to take action, first by trying to boost productivity and then ‘other things including pricing and adapting products to make sure that you can still offer them at good value’.

Historically, these adaptations have centred on so-called shrinkflation, which involves cutting the size and keeping the price the same.



Last year, the firm reduced the size of some Toblerone bars from 400g bars to 360g by increasing the gap between the chocolate triangles.

Also last year, the firm’s Terry’s Chocolate Orange was reduced in weight by 10per cent – down from 175g to 157g.

In 2015, the number of Cadbury's crème eggs in a multi-pack was cut from six to five.

In the same year, the recipe of the Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut bar changed to include cheap sultanas alongside raisins.