Shrinkflation: Cadbury reduces size of Dairy Milk bars as inflation pressures hit

Cadbury has downsized the size of its Dairy Milk sharing bar as it feels the bite of rising costs.

Parent company Mondelez said it was shrinking the size of the bars by 10 per cent as it faces inflationary pressures. The chocolate bar will be reduced from 200g to 180g, but still sold at £2.

The confectionary giant said it was “facing the same challenges” its rivals had reported when it came to “significantly increased” production costs and rising inflation.

A Mondelez spokesperson added: “This means that our products are much more expensive to make.

It is not the first time the chocolate-maker has reduced the size of items. Its 140g chocolate bar was reduced to 120g in 2011 while in 2012, a 49g bar was reduced to 45g with the price remaining at 59p.

The spokesperson continued: “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.”

Chief market analyst at IG, Chris Beauchamp told City A.M. that while spiralling inflation will hit consumers’ pockets, it is not likely to curtail spending on smaller luxuries such as chocolate.

“It is a common feature, and one that consumers are aware of, but there’s little they can do about it. But the small luxuries are often the last to go; consumers might go on foreign holidays less, or look to keep their current car, but overall weekly shopping habits are slower to change.

“As a fairly small part of the household budget, shoppers will leave them in place, and just grumble about reduced sizes. More broadly, however, it does show how the outlook has become much more uncertain and rocky over recent months, something that is not likely to change in the short term.”

Households are facing a spike in grocery bills, with many supermarkets already hiking prices. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose 6.2 per cent in the 12 months to February 2022, up from 5.5 per cent in January.

Crisps giant Frito-Lay also downsized its bags of Doritos earlier this month, as “inflation is hitting everyone”, a company spokesperson said at the time.

While packets of Doritos now have fewer chips in each bag, after cutting the size of its 9.75 ounce bag to 9.25 ounces – the equivalent of around five chips – prices of the product have remained the same.

It follows similar moves from brands like Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Charmin toilet paper, as the trend continues amid spiralling inflation.