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Cadbury has admitted that its Crunchie Easter eggs now contain only one ‘fun-sized’ chocolate bar, down from two, attributing the reduction to “significantly higher input costs” across its supply chain.
The admission follows a customer’s viral complaint about ‘shrinkflation’.
Natalie Norton, a retail worker, expressed her dismay after purchasing a Cadbury Easter egg from Tesco last month.
The 34-year-old had bought the egg for £2.85 with her Clubcard, intending to share it as a “Sunday treat” with her mother.
However, she was “shocked” to discover the egg contained just one ‘treat-sized’ Crunchie bar, rather than a full-sized one.
Footage shared by Ms Norton showed the diminutive bar, which she claimed was so small that she and her mother “each had a bite”.
Natalie Norton was shocked that there was only one ‘treat-sized’ Crunchie bar included with her Cadbury Crunchie Easter Egg (Kennedy News & Media)
Initially believing it to be a packaging error, she later confirmed from the box that this was indeed the intended size.
Ms Norton, from Coventry, branded the situation a “perfect example of ‘shrinkflation'” amidst the cost-of-living crisis, recalling that Easter eggs previously included “two full-sized bars”.
“When it says one bar [on the packaging], I expected it to be a full-sized Crunchie not fun-sized,” Ms Norton said.
“I said to my mum, ‘what the hell is this? Are they having a laugh?'”
She added: “Everything is getting smaller but prices are still going up. The size shocked me and I asked my mum if someone had made a mistake but I guess this is what it is now.”
Natalie Norton and her mum shared the small bar, having ‘one bite each’ (Kennedy News & Media)
Cadbury, owned by Mondelēz International, confirmed the change, saying that the egg previously contained two treat-sized bars.
A spokesperson explained: “We understand the economic pressures that consumers continue to face and raising prices is a last resort for our business. However, as a food producer, we are continuing to experience significantly higher input costs across our supply chain.”
The company added: “As a result, we made the carefully considered decision to reduce the number of individual Treatsize bars included in our Cadbury Crunchie Shell Egg (167g) from two to one, so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect.”
It also said that “all product details are labelled clearly on pack so consumers can make an informed choice before buying”.
Natalie Norton’s video about the change went viral (Kennedy News & Media)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) defines shrinkflation as products reducing in size while maintaining the same price.
Ms Norton’s video sparked similar reactions online, with one user commenting: “More shrinkflation. Used to get a full-sized bar. Not that party sized bar.”
Another user said: “It’s always been a bar…never hero size. This shows that it’s true – chocolate and Easter eggs are getting smaller.”
The 167g Cadbury Crunchie Easter egg is currently priced at £3.50 for Tesco Clubcard members and £4.50 at its regular price.
Tesco has been contacted for comment.
