Cadbury hikes price of Christmas favourite amid rising chocolate costs
CADBURY has hiked the price of a Christmas favourite as the cost of chocolate continues to rise.
Dairy Milk Coins have a recommended retail price (RRP) of £2.19 – 20p more than last year.
The coins were discontinued in 2014 and disappointed shoppers launched a petition to get them reinstated.
Last year, Cadbury confirmed the treat would return to supermarket shelves, delighting chocolate lovers.
The iconic festive treat, sold in 70g bags, cost £1.99 in 2023.
They will still be available to buy this Christmas, but the price has gone up.
However, keep in mind that supermarkets can set their own prices and decide on whether or not pass on price rises to consumers or not.
This means the price might not be the same everywhere, so it’s always worth checking what your local supermarket has in store.
For example, Asda now has the Cadbury coins on sale for £1.65 per bag.
Or you can buy them from Cadbury Gifts Direct for £2.19.
If you’re looking for something similar and don’t mind a different brand, Asda also has its own 75g chocolate coin bag on sale for 75p.
Just days ago, one shopper spotted the Cadbury chocolate coins at Asda and shared the deal on the B&M Bargains, Extreme Money Saving Deals and More Facebook group, writing: “Cadbury Milk Chocolate Coins are back at Asda!!”
One person commented: “Asda get all the best Christmas chocolate in first !! I’ve only got Tesco.”
Another wrote: “Picked one up in Great Yarmouth store yesterday. Not even Xmas as yet. And now it’s only the start of August.”
Other festive treats recently spotted on supermarket shelves include mince pies and Mint Maltesers Reindeers.
Many shoppers were left surprised that the festive treats are already being sold, as they pointed out that Christmas is still a few months away.
Currently, shoppers are paying as much as 12% more for a bar of Dairy Milk as the price has shot up in just a single month.
Cadbury previously said the hike is a “last resort” due to rising costs of cocoa in West Africa.
The base price of the chocolate shot up by 12.1% according to data collated by The Grocer.
In Sainsbury’s the price for a 110g Dairy Milk bar rose from £1.65 to £1.85.
The same sized chocolate bar is now setting back shoppers 10% more in Asda up to £1.65 from £1.50.
At Waitrose, customers are paying 5.7% more – up to £1.85 from £1.75.
How to save money on chocolate
WE all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don't have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed on flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for supermarket’s own brand bars.
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
Aldi doesn’t stock Dairy Milk in 110g but the price of its 95g bar is unchanged at £1.29.
And retailers Morrisons and Tesco have maintained the price of the 110g bar at £.165 and £1.49 respectively.
A Cadbury spokeswoman told The Grocer the price hikes were made as “a last resort”.
She said the brand is “continuing to experience significantly higher input costs”.
She cited cocoa and sugar as “costing far more than they have done previously”.
Cadbury has been contacted for comment on the latest price hike,
Cocoa crops in Ghana and the Ivory Coast are suffering shortages.
This has led to prices tripling in the first quarter of the year.
Chocolate companies buy their cocoa up to a year before they manufacture and sell their products.
This means it’s likely that consumers will see further price increases in chocolate products within the next few months.
It comes after The Sun revealed that Mars has shrunk the size of its Celebrations tubs.
The 600g box has been cut to 550g — equal to a reduction of around five sweets.
Mars blamed the rising costs of raw materials and operations.
When an item shrinks in size but the price stays the same, it’s a tactic known as shrinkflation.
It means shoppers won’t pay more when costs increase for the company making the item, but they will get less product.
Smaller products are easier for customers to digest compared to increasing prices, making it a popular option for food manufacturers as it’s less noticeable.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories