Cadbury has shrunk the size of its Dairy Milk sharing bar by 10% though its retail price remains the same.
Despite dropping from 200g to 180g, the bar will still be sold at £2 as part of efforts to offset the rising production costs and maintain profitability. Parent firm Mondolez said it was the first example of so-called shrinkflation at the UK chocolate brand for the last ten years.
Prices rose by 6.2% in the 12 months to February – the fastest for 30 years – as fuel, energy and food costs surged.
A spokesman for Mondelez said that the company was facing “the same challenges” that many other food companies have reported when it comes to increased production costs and rising inflation. They added that the price of ingredients, energy and packaging had all increased.
They said: “This means that our products are much more expensive to make.
“We understand that consumers are faced with rising costs too, which is why we look to absorb costs wherever we can, but, in this difficult environment, we’ve had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our medium Cadbury Dairy Milk bars for the first time since 2012, so that we can keep them competitive and ensure the great taste and quality our fans enjoy.”
