Brits demand Christmas chocolate boycott as ‘shrinkflation’ strikes once more
Supermarket-goers are fuming as a beloved Christmas treat has seen a price hike and a decrease in size and it’s not the first time this has happened.
The chocolate selection box Celebrations, a staple of British Christmases, will now cost you up to £6 for a 550g tub, depending on where you shop. Glenn Kennedy from Manchester operates a Facebook page where members share and discuss the latest supermarket deals, as reported by What’s the Jam.
With only 100 days until Christmas, Kennedy shared an image from a Lee Myers, which seemed to illustrate the shrinking size of the chocolate box over the years.
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A photo displays three tubs on a kitchen table, with a noticeable reduction in size between them. “The size difference is mental. Twice the price for half the amount,” Myers penned, reports the Manchester Evening News.
(Image: No credit)
Commenters were unanimous in their disapproval. Some even encouraged fellow shoppers to boycott the product as a form of protest. “If everyone boycotted and refused to buy them they’d either give them away or throw them away ..while there’s demand there will always be a supply, I refused to be ripped off anymore,” Patricia Fenn posted.
“Boycott them and don’t buy, then they’ll be giving them away in January,” another commenter suggested.
Celebrations were initially introduced by Mars Wrigley back in 1997 but the alterations they have undergone in recent years have not gone unnoticed. The classic Christmas choccy tubs have been on a diet, it seems!
According to reports from Metro.co.uk and The Sun last year, the festive favourite has slimmed down a whopping 38pc from 975g to 600g between 2008 and 2023. And now, whispers from What’s The Jam suggest the sweet treat has shed even more weight, tipping the scales at just 550g. Glenn’s snap of Morrisons’ shelves stacked with Christmas cakes only added fuel to the fire.
A Mars Wrigley UK rep weighed in, saying: “We have been actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations, as we know the increase in the cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses across the UK. Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done.”
They added: “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 tub itself has also reduced in order to reduce the plastic used in the packaging by 17 per cent to help us meet our sustainability targets as a business.”
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