Cadbury to shrink size of Wispa Gold and Double Decker bars
Cadbury is shrinking the size of Double Decker and Wispa Gold bars sold in multipacks so they contain less than calories in an attempt to help tackle obesity, but the smaller bars will cost the same.
Cadbury, owned by the US confectionery group Mondelēz International, said multipacks accounted for the biggest slice of its chocolate sales and the change would eliminate bn calories from the UK market in one fell swoop.
The company said it was offering more portion control options by voluntarily committing to bring all Cadbury chocolate bars sold in multipacks under calories by the end of . The list of products being reduced in size includes Wispa Gold, Double Decker, Boost and Bournville Classic. However, there will be no change to the size of the bars sold individually.
A spokesperson for Cadbury said: “The list price for these products will not be changing at this time. Retail pricing remains at the retailer’s sole discretion.”
The practice of reducing product sizes but maintaining prices effectively increases their cost per ounce and is known as “shrinkflation”.
The confectionery group has already promised to reduce the serving size of treats typically bought for children to under calories by the end of this year with Fudge, Curly Wurly and Chomp bars among those to have already made the switch.
Louise Stigant, the UK managing director at Mondelēz International, said: “We recognise we must play our part in tackling obesity and are committed to doing so without compromising on consumer choice. A focus on portion control is recognised as one of the most effective ways of helping people balance their calorie intake.”
Measures to try and nudge the public into healthier food-buying habits are among policies being considered, in what has been billed a “war against obesity”, being drawn up by Downing Street.
Last week it was suggested that supermarkets in England could be stopped from placing chocolate and sweets as impulse purchases at the end of aisles.
Cadbury has been reducing its portion sizes for several years, having introduced a -calorie cap on all single-serve chocolate bars in and a -calorie Cadbury Dairy Milk bar.
