Too many chocs away as crunch is biting

Published on Friday 19 December 2008 20:47

CHOCAHOLICS will be disappointed this Christmas when they discover that the economic downturn has even begun to hit Christmas selection boxes.

In what critics call a cost-cutting move, Cadbury's has replaced Dreams and Crunchies in Heroes tubs with toffee Eclairs, Fudges and Bournville chocolates. Some have speculated that these chocolates are cheaper to produce, but Cadbury's could not confirm this.

The axing of Crunchies has proved particularly unpopular, and many chocolate-lovers have expressed their anger at the so-called "credit-crunchie" phenomenon on online forums. One enraged chocaholic wrote: "Please do not go down the cheap route by putting eclairs into the tin. It looks like I will have to switch chocolates. I am bitterly disappointed."

A spokesman for Cadbury's admitted that cost was a factor in the decision, but said there was a whole range of other reasons too.

He said: "We make slight changes to the selection every year. This decision was probably made before the credit crunch started."

Caroline Parry of Marketing Week said she believed the move was a cost-cutting exercise.

"Cadbury's has recently been re-evaluating its whole portfolio of brands and getting rid of those that don't make any money. But I'm surprised Crunchies have been ousted, as so many people are attached to that brand."