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Consumer watchdog Which? has been looking into which festive treats have been affected by 'shrinkflation' - when grocery items shrink in size, but the price remains the same or increases - ahead of Christmas 2024. Which? compared the size and price of a range of festive products from October 2023 to October 2024 and found a number of examples of shrinkflation which could see shoppers paying more for less this Christmas. Which chocolates have shrunk this festive season? Chocolates seem to have been the worst affected by shrinkflation, according to Which? .
The chocolates that have shrunk in size since last year, while the price has remained the same or increased, include: Cadbury's Mini Snowballs are among the festive chocolates to have shrunk since Christmas last year. (Image: Cadbury) Why are products shrinking? "Shrinking pack sizes allow food and drink manufacturers to cut costs without increasing prices (although sometimes they do both)," Which? explained. Shrinkflation has become more common since food prices soared in 2022.
Despite food inflation being at its lowest rate in three years, according to the consumer watchdog, the price of chocolate continues to rise. This is due, in part, to poor harvests in West Africa driving up the cost of cocoa. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), chocolate prices continue to climb.
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"We have been working to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. "However, in order to maintain the same high quality and delicious taste that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the weight of some of our products. Retail pricing is always at the sole discretion of individual retailers.
" Two Quality Street chocolates have shrunk in size since last year. (Image: Patrick Glover) Regarding resizing the two Quality Street chocolates, it said: "The new sweets are slightly lighter, but the net weight of the tub remains the same. "This means people are still getting the same amount of delicious Quality Street product they know and love – just in a slightly different format.
" A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley UK, which makes Celebrations, said: "We are actively looking at ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations as we know the increase in the cost of living is impacting consumers and businesses across the UK. "Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done. RECOMMENDED READING: "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 spokesperson added: "As we continue our journey to find solutions which have lower environmental impact, we have also examined our packaging and have decided to reduce the size of the tub itself. "This move has seen us reduce the plastic used in the packaging by 17%, which aligns with our sustainability targets as a business and helps reduce the environmental impact of our packaging.".
