Crack open a tub of Celebrations or reach for a Terry's Chocolate Orange this festive season, and you might find yourself double-checking the packaging. Is it just your imagination, or are these classic treats getting smaller, pricier, and—dare we say it—a little less satisfying? According to a recent analysis by BBC and other UK outlets, it’s not all in your head. British chocolate lovers are facing a new reality: beloved brands are shrinking their products, raising prices, and, in some cases, swapping out key ingredients for cheaper alternatives. The trend, dubbed “shrinkflation” and “skimpflation,” is reshaping the confectionery aisle at a time when consumers are already feeling the pinch.
Let’s break down the numbers, because they’re enough to make any sweet tooth wince. Data collected by market researchers Assosia across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons from December 2021 to December 2025 paints a stark picture. Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, a staple in British households, now weighs 10% less than it did four years ago. At the same time, its price has soared from £1.86 to £2.75—a whopping 48% increase. Mars Celebrations tubs have shrunk by 23%, with the price jumping from £4.25 to £6.11, a 44% hike. Even Terry’s Chocolate Orange, a fixture in Christmas stockings, is 8% smaller and 51% more expensive, rising from £1.49 to £2.25.
Behind these changes are global forces that are hard to ignore. As Ghadafi Razak from Warwick Business School explains, extreme weather events—floods in India, Brazil, and Thailand in 2023, followed by droughts in 2024—have hammered cocoa harvests. Africa, the world’s primary cocoa producer, has also suffered from erratic weather linked to climate change. The result? Cocoa prices have spiked, and those costs are now being passed on to consumers. Christian Jaccarini, a senior food analyst at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, notes that it takes about 18 months for such shocks to hit supermarket shelves, meaning higher prices are likely to linger.
Milk, another crucial ingredient in chocolate, hasn’t been spared. Diarmaid Mac Colgáin, founder of Concept Dairy consultancy, cites the rising cost of feed, fuel, fertilizers, and wages as reasons for the uptick in milk prices. To keep costs in check, some brands have quietly substituted palm oil and shea oil for milk, maintaining the fat content but changing the taste and texture.
These behind-the-scenes adjustments have not gone unnoticed by consumers. Becca Amy Stock, a TikTok influencer known as Becca Eats Everything, undertook a rigorous study of milk chocolate bars in UK supermarkets. After six hours and £100 spent, she concluded that Cadbury’s Dairy Milk tasted “more oily” and less milky than she remembered, especially since the brand’s takeover by American giant Mondelez in 2010. “You do notice the difference,” she told BBC. “Cadbury’s does not taste how it used to taste.”
Mondelez, for its part, insists it hasn’t recently changed the Dairy Milk recipe. “Our Cadbury Dairy Milk products continue to be made with the same delicious recipes that consumers know and love,” a spokesperson said. “The cocoa content has not changed for many years.” However, they admit that rising ingredient costs have left them with little choice but to “slightly reduce the weight and increase the list price of some of our Cadbury products.” Mars Wrigley echoed this sentiment, telling BBC that higher cocoa and manufacturing costs forced them to “adjust some… product sizes... without compromising on quality or taste.”
Not all companies are sticking to the same formulas, though. Nestlé, one of the world’s confectionery titans, has made sweeping changes to its Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband bars. As reported by Newsquest, both now contain less cocoa and more vegetable fats, dropping them below the UK’s legal threshold for “milk chocolate” (20% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids). The packaging now reads “smooth milk chocolate flavour coating” instead of the familiar “milk chocolate.” Nestlé attributes the change to “significant increases in the cost of cocoa over the past years,” but some fans are less than thrilled. On Reddit, consumers have described the new taste as “disgusting” and “barely edible,” with one lamenting, “They were lovely once. Just like Boost bars from Cadbury.” Nestlé maintains that the recipes were “carefully developed and sensory tested with taste and quality being our top priority,” and assures there are no plans to alter other chocolate products.
In the midst of these industry-wide adjustments, there’s a glimmer of nostalgia for British shoppers. Marks & Spencer (M&S) recently brought back the Take 4 chocolate bar, a fan favorite from the 1980s, after a 20-year absence. The relaunch, announced on Instagram with retro-inspired packaging, sparked a wave of enthusiasm. “LOVE IT! We’re all in the nostalgia these days of happier times and to see the nostalgic wrapping is a joy!” one customer commented, as reported by Birmingham Live. Another added, “Love the retro look. Bringing back the classics.”
The timing of Take 4’s return is no accident. M&S, like many retailers, has faced a tough year. A major cyber attack earlier in 2025 forced the chain to suspend online orders, causing home and fashion sales to drop by over 40%. Underlying pre-tax profits plummeted 55.4% to £184.1 million for the six months ending September 27, while reported profits nearly vanished, falling from £391.9 million to just £3.4 million year-over-year. CEO Stuart Machin called the first half of the year “an extraordinary moment in time,” but expressed confidence that cost-reduction efforts would help the company recover. The cyber attack, attributed to “human error,” is expected to cost around £300 million before insurance and mitigation.
For consumers, these changes add up to a bittersweet reality. Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, says it best: “It can feel especially sneaky when companies shrink products or downgrade their ingredients.” She urges supermarkets and manufacturers to be more transparent about such changes, even if customers are unlikely to celebrate the news. “With Christmas not far away, shoppers will be looking to get the best value from what they buy,” she notes. “Customers may not love the news—but at least they don’t feel misled.”
So, what’s a chocolate lover to do? Becca Amy Stock suggests splurging on smaller, premium bars like Tony’s Chocolonely for a more satisfying treat, or turning to supermarket own-brands for better quality at a lower price. As the industry adapts to global pressures and changing tastes, one thing is clear: the world of British chocolate is evolving, and consumers will need to keep a keen eye on both the label and the price tag if they want to satisfy their cravings this holiday season.
