Easter egg buyers paying more for less

Shoppers are paying for their easter eggs this year, even though many have shrunk in size.

According to consumer group Which?, the price of chocolate has gone up by more than 16% in the last year.

And that’s having a knock-on effect on the price of chocolate eggs, with some costing around 50% more than they did last easter. 

At the same time, some popular products are smaller today than they were this time last year.

For example:

Terry's chocolate orange mini eggs

A pouch of Terry's chocolate orange mini eggs has shrunk from 80g to 70g and gone from 99p to £1.35 at Lidl - an increase of 56% per 100g. 

Meanwhile, the price has gone up by 51% at Asda, 37% at Sainsbury’s and 14% at Tesco.

Kit Kat Chunky milk chocolate egg

The size has shrunk from 129g to 110g. So although the price in Morrisons hasn’t changed, it’s essentially 17% more expensive per 100g.

200g Cadbury Creme Egg five-pack mixed chocolate box

This cost £2.62 a year ago in Morrisons, but now costs £4.

Twix white chocolate egg

This has shrunk from 316g to 258g, yet the price at Tesco has gone up from £5 to £6 – up 47% per 100g.

Reena Sewraz, money and retail editor at Which?, said: “There's no better way to enjoy the spring bank holiday than spending time with loved ones and indulging in a cracking assortment of Easter chocolate.

“But if you don't want to pay more for less, it is worth shopping around.”

She suggests looking for special offers, comparing the price per gram, and if possible, holding out until Easter Sunday when many eggs are likely to be discounted.

Why are prices going up?

Major chocolate brands have blamed rising easter egg prices and shrinking sizes on the soaring cost of cocoa.

“We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can,” said a Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson.

“But rising manufacturing costs - driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa - have meant that we’ve had to adjust some of our product sizes to minimise changes to list price, ensuring our snacks continue to deliver great quality and affordable value for families this easter.”

A Nestle spokeswoman added: “Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products.

“As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible.”