Back to the 00’s with 10p Freddos

Sainsbury’s has dropped the price of Freddos to just 10p to mark the 200^th anniversary of chocolate manufacturer Cadbury.

Freddos last retailed at 10p in 2005 – 19 years ago, with its RRP slowly creeping up around 2p a year. A Freddo in 2024 will set you back around 49p.

Freddo is a chocolate bar shaped like a cartoon frog. It was originally manufactured by MacRobertson’s, an Australian confectionery company, having been invented in 1930 by an 18-year-old employee. MacRobertson’s was bought by Cadbury in 1947 who were so taken by the Freddo frog they decided to keep the product.

Over the years Freddo has gained cult status with the chocolate bar’s rising prices being used to informally measure the cost of living and inflation rates.  

However, if Freddo’s price increases had accurately tracked inflation they’d be setting you back a whopping £17.03 today, according to the Bank of England inflation calculator.

It’s not just Freddos dropping in price, Sainsbury’s is also slashing prices across a range of Cadbury’s classics for Nectar customers including Mini Rolls, Chocolate Fingers, Flakes, and Curly Wurly multipacks.

Sainsbury’s shoppers will need to be quick to bag a bargain, with the savings only available until 23 April.

All Nectar customers need to do to benefit from Nectar prices is scan their app or swipe their card at checkout – either in-store or online – to get the savings.

With Sainsbury’s rolling Freddo prices back to 2005, we thought it’d be fun to go back in time and see what we were up to nearly 20 years ago. Along with Freddos, some things have stood the test of time better than others.  

What was happening in 2005?

Back in 2005, Labour was in power with Tony Blair being elected for a third term.

Girl groups were popular with Sugababes and Girls Aloud – both of whom are back touring this year – dominating the charts.  

And in the cinema we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Episode 3, Mr & Mrs Smith, Hitch and Madagascar.

2005 was the year of the podcast, with Apple enabling iPod users to listen to podcasts on the go. Around 23.5% of all internet users now listen to podcasts with about 504.9 million users worldwide.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles (as he was then) married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a reception at Windsor Castle.

While we’re on the subject of marriages, the UK Civil Partnership Act was also introduced meaning that same-sex partnerships had the same rights and responsibilities as civil marriages.

House prices rose by 5% in 2005 – the lowest rate of growth for a decade - with the average home costing £171,632.