CELEBRATIONS tubs have shrunk in size again this Christmas, meaning the odds of picking a fight to get the last of your favourite chocolate has increased.
Mars has slashed the size of its iconic red tubs by 50g this year – and this means around four fewer sweets with 56 in total, down from 60.
We analysed one tub of the popular Christmas treat and compared it to last year to reveal the ratios of flavours in tubs this year.
The sweet that appears most in tubs is the milky way – with 11 in total, one more than 10 last year.
Milky way sweets are commonly known as one of the least popular flavour, so the increase may not go down well with fans.
The second most popular is snickers and mars – with nine sweets each.
There were nine mars sweets in the tub we assessed last year, while there were 10 snickers, which means there’s one fewer this year.
Twirl fans will be pleased to know there’s one extra this year, which seven in total up from six.
Then there are five each of Malteasers, Galaxy Caramel, Galaxy and Bounty.
Bad news for Malteasers fans as there are two fewer than last year and then one fewer of Galaxy Caramel, Galaxy and Bounty.
Quantities of each sweet vary between tubs.
A Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson said: “We know each and every chocolate is delicious to someone.
“That’s why the Celebrations mix has been carefully designed by our chocolate experts since 1994, to make it perfect for sharing with friends and family, no matter their favourites.
“We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can, but rising manufacturing costs – driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa – have meant that we’ve had to adjust the size of our Celebrations tubs.
“It’s not a decision we take lightly, but it ensures families can still enjoy their favourite mix of Celebrations without compromising on quality or taste.”
Last Christmas, the tubs featuring miniature pieces of Twix, Milkyway and Bounty, were reduced in size from 600g to 550g.
The tubs cost around £7 in Sainsbury’s but Asda has priced them at £4.49 at the moment.
Last week, we also revealed the ratios of sweets in Quality Street tubs, as tubs have also shrunk.
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 about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the 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.
