Fury as Cadbury quietly changes its popular assortment box

Cadbury has confirmed a huge shake-up to the brand’s assortment box after Aussies noticed two favourite flavours were “missing”.

Fury as Cadbury quietly cuts size of its popular assortment box. Picture: Reddit

A popular chocolate brand is the latest company to quietly “shrink” the size of its products amid the growing cost of living crisis.

Cadbury Favourites were previously available to purchase in two sizes, a 570g box as well as the smaller 373g.

However, both have been accused of “shrinking” after eagle-eyed shoppers noticed the boxes had reduced in weight.

The 570g box has been replaced with a box that is 50g lighter and now comes in at 520g. Meanwhile the smaller box now weighs 340g – a whole 33g less than before.

Cadbury Australia has confirmed speculation about the product’s decrease in weight, citing soaring manufacturing costs.

Aussies are furious after spotting Cadbury has cut the size of its popular assortment box. Picture: Reddit

“Due to the rising costs that many Aussie manufacturers are facing, we have made the difficult decision to adjust the size of our Cadbury Favourites range,” Alex Blair, Mondelez’s corporate and government affairs manager, told news.com.au.

“This ensures we can continue to deliver the highest quality Cadbury chocolate, made in Australia, and from the best local ingredients, including Queensland sugar and fresh milk from Tasmanian farms.

“We know this will disappoint some, however, we’re committed to providing Australians the same high-quality and great tasting chocolate.”

One disgruntled Reddit user shared a photo of the 520g box alongside its predecessor, captioning the snaps: “Shrinkflation has reached Favourites”

The change has already hit supermarket shelves, with links to buy the 570g box as well as the 373g box on both Coles and Woolworths websites now leading through to the smaller versions.

Currently, the larger “party” pack retails for $22 while the smaller is priced at $16 – though it’s currently on special for $8.

The contents of the box have also been given a refresh, sparking debate online. Picture: Reddit

It wasn’t the only change to the popular supermarket product, with Cadbury ditching two of the miniature bars and swapping them out for new flavours.

Dream and Flake are no longer in the assortment box and have been replaced with Caramilk and Twirl bars.

Cadbury’s parent company, Mondelez International, said it regularly reviews chocolates in the Favourites product to “ensure the box is reflective of Australia’s favourite flavours”.

“Caramilk and Twirl are among our most popular products and rightfully deserve their place in the Cadbury Favourites line-up,’ Blair added.

“Dream and Flake fans shouldn’t fear – both remain widely available in bar and share-bag formats.”

It hasn’t stopped Aussies from weighing in on the move, debating over whether or not the right mix of bars was currently on offer.

“Twirl is just a more structurally-sound version of Flake. Definitely an improvement IMO,” one user posted.

“Twirl replacing Flake is fine but no Dream?? That’s like my favourite… (Caramilk is no Dream replacement IMO),” another said.

As one raged: “If [Cadbury] touch the Turkish Delight I will be writing a strongly worded email.”

Others said they were more upset about the “missing 50g” but added they weren’t sure anything could be done to rectify the situation.

“Surely the Old Gold is the least popular, they always get left in the boxes I’ve seen,” another chipped in.

“No Flake = No Favourites,” another scoffed.

An array of confectionary products have become the victim of 'shrinkflation' recently. Picture: Supplied

Freddo Frogs have also gotten smaller, down to 12g from 15g. Picture: Supplied

The Cadbury product is the latest confectionary item to be accused of “shrinkflation” while the price either remains the same, or has increased due to current manufacturing pressures amid the cost of living crisis.

Maxibon ice creams recently announced it was shrinking its ice creams as the company tries to preserve profits during the economic downturn.

“It’s not news you’ll want to cop, but we had to let you know first. Tough times mean tough changes. And because of that, we’ve had to make the call to downsize our Maxibon a touch,” the company shared on Instagram in March.

“So, from this month, you’ll notice the changes, but our Maxibons will have the same taste you know and love.”

Cadbury also copped flak recently after it shrunk the size of Freddo Frogs from 15g down to 12g last year.

Its famous Dairy Milk blocks have also reportedly been cut in size, down almost 50 per cent of their size over the last 20 or so years, according to chief market strategist at Investment Smart, Evan Lucas.