As we are all too aware, 2016 has been a tough year. It’s certainly had its ups and downs in the confectionary category.
First, there were concerns that Milky Way Magic Stars would no longer be available in Britain after the UK’s monumental decision to leave the EU. It began as a mere jovial tweet but led to rising concern over our favourite childhood chocolate. Fortunately, these rumours were later quashed, which gave some comfort to those of us left crying over the vote to leave.
Then we recently discovered the terrible news that Toblerone has changed the iconic shape of its bars. There were rumours of higher ingredient cost, the company seeking higher profits and mere wishes to modernise the brand. Regardless, consumers weren’t happy. Unfortunately, there’s been no positive outcome and it remains a touchy issue for Toblerone lovers everywhere.
Cadbury Roses caused another stir in my household, when I came home for Christmas to discover the changes made to their packaging. To my horror, I found the individual wrappers changed from figure-hugging foil to a bigger, more cumbersome plastic-coated wrapping. The chocolates themselves have also changed shape, now meaning the only way to decipher your favourite kind is to know the colour of its packaging by heart. I thought I had enough to revise over the Christmas break without adding chocolate colour coding to the list!
Although The Telegraph announced this change last year, it still comes as a shock to me and I was unaware until I began researching. I don’t know how it passed me by but I doubt I’m the only person upset by this latest confectionary calamity.
The latest installment of food failure comes from Thornton’s and the absence this year of their chocolate alpine logs. Every year on Christmas Eve, without fail, my mother would proudly present my brother and me with one of these magical logs. Our faces would light up and we would gleefully tuck in. Unfortunately, my mother had to admit to me that she couldn’t to find one this year. It appears Thornton’s has discontinued these bites of chocolate praline heaven. I may not be a child anymore but my Christmases certainly won’t be the same without those little logs.
Although menial, these are all chocolates that I have grown up with and I’m sure I’m not the only one despairing at their pointless modernisations. For me, these changes are just another kick in the teeth after the ongoing issues with Freddo inflation. It’s about time chocolate companies listened to their consumers and stopped ‘fixing’ things that aren’t broken! Let’s hope 2017 doesn’t bring any more unexpected change for chocoholics such as myself.
Edited by Jenine Tudtud
Sources:
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=282480385
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/world/europe/toblerone-triangle-change-uk.html?_r=0
https://danderma.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/things-2-get-4m-london-thorntons-robin-alpine-log/