Confectionery

Shrinking sweets

Back in 2016, with the world's eyes firmly on the U.S. as voters went to the polls in the presidential election, the people at Mondelēz International probably thought it was a pretty safe time to announce the design change and size reduction of its classic product, the Toblerone. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the passion people in the UK can have for confectionary. As one Twitter user pointed out at the time, the news managed to beat the U.S. election down into second place on the BBC News 'Most Read' list.

As our infographic shows, there are indeed a number of chocolate products which have become smaller over the last few years, with Toblerones doing so most dramatically. Important in this case, though, is the corresponding price decrease. While not completely in line with the weight decrease of 25 percent, the price reduction of 19.7 percent can perhaps in some way appease customers. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the other products selected here. According to Brand View as reported by the BBC, one of the most extreme examples is a twin pack of Jaffa Cakes. Having been reduced in weight from 150g in 2014 to 122g in 2018 (18.7 percent smaller), anyone wishing to buy one is expected to shell out 27.3 percent more than they were four years ago.

Description

This chart shows the changes in weight and price of selected confectionery from 2014 to 2018 in the UK.

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Price change of chocolate and sweets in the United Kingdom between December 2022 and December 2024, by product type
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Sales of enterprises for the manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionary in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2008 to 2024 (in million GBP)
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Sugar confectionary retail sales value in Europe from 2014 to 2021 (in million USD)*
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Average expenditure per person per week on confectionery in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2006 to 2023/24, by type (in pence)
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Consumers who noticed shrinkflation in the UK in the past six months as of July 2025, by product type
Sales price of toffees, caramels and similar candies per kilogram manufactured in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2008 to 2019 (in GBP)

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