Customers react to KitKat's shrinkflation
Kitkat fans have snapped after shrinkflation hit the teatime chocolate favourite, with multipacks getting smaller and more expensive. Some packs have shrunk by three whole bars while the price has gone up 40p or more. Packs of 21, which were previously available for £3.60 in Tesco , now contain just 18 bars but now cost £4.
Nine packs, which were £1.95 or £1.30 with a Tesco Clubcard in April, are down to eight and cost £2.20. The change has been spotted by shoppers who have railed at the latest example of shrinkflation, where products shrink in size but the price remains the same or goes up.
Consumer champion Martyn James said: 'If there's one thing that drives shoppers mad, it's shrinkflation. 'Trimming down multipacks and making our favourite treats smaller is just plain stingy in this day and age. And expecting shoppers not to notice is cheeky, frankly. KitKat needs to give us all a break!'
It comes after multipacks of Cadbury Twirl chocolate bars recently shrunk from 10 to 9, Dairy Milk Little Bars went from four to six and packs of Freddos are now four from five. The British Retail Consortium said global cocoa prices are around three times higher at the moment than in 2022, after being badly affected by poor harvests in parts of Africa.
One customer said: 'This really needs calling out.' Another added: 'Paying more for less? What's that about?'
Nestlé said: '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.
'To maintain the same high quality, delicious products that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the price, weight or size of some of our products.
'Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers.' The manufacturer confirmed the recommended retail price (RRP) of the packs had changed from £5.09 for the old 21-packs to £5.50 for 18-packs, while the old nine packs had gone from £2.25 to £2.50 for eight.
