Chocolate brand Toblerone has altered two products in the United Kingdom because of higher costs. Its decision not to increase the price, but to lower the weight of several chocolate bars, has generated a social media storm.
More space between triangles
The 400 gram bar now only weighs 360 grams, while the 170 gram bar is now 150 grams which is an indirect 11 to 13 % price increase. The decrease in weight led to an altered appearance: the triangles are still present, but there is much more room between each one, which sparked a lot of debate on social media.
Plenty of consumers feel the new bars are the perfect Brexit metaphor, which has already caused price hikes for quite a few popular items in the United Kingdom. Plenty of Brits are wondering why owner Mondelez just didn’t increase the price or shorten the bar instead of create more space between the triangles. They feel Mondelez is cheating its customers by giving them the sensation of buying a normal bar.
The company categorically denies the Brexit (and the subsequent currency drop) is the cause for the new bars. “Like many other companies, we are experiencing higher costs for numerous ingredients. We carry these costs for as long as possible, but to ensure Toblerone remains on-shelf, is affordable and retains the triangular shape, we have had to reduce the weight of just two of our bars in the UK, from the wider range of available Toblerone products”, it said, even thoughthe alteration is only for the market in the United Kingdom for now.
