Sharing a tub of Quality Street, Celebrations or Roses is a tradition in millions of households at Christmas but do you ever feel shortchanged by the mix of sweets? Welcome to “Inequality Street”, where prized treats like the green triangles and Maltesers are in short supply but there’s a bounty of Milky Ways and orange cremes.
A Guardian analysis of the make-up of three of the most popular Christmas sweets confirmed what many have feared: there are fewer of the best chocolates to begin with. To add insult to injury there might even be a smaller number in the box altogether due to shrinkflation as companies reduce pack sizes but leave the price unchanged.
In recent years, sweet-lovers hunting the elusive green triangle have begun auditing their tubs and sharing the data on the social media account Inequality Street.
While Quality Street fans love the green triangle so much that it used to be sold in standalone packs, it is typically one of the rarest chocolates in a 600g tub. In each of the five we bought it appeared four times, compared with orange cremes, which appeared an average of eight times, and caramel swirls and toffee fingers, which appeared almost as often. There are usually five or (if you are lucky) six purple ones.
Celebrations would be muted at best among lovers of Galaxy and Galaxy caramels, as these were in shortest supply in the 550g boxes of Mars favourites. In the tubs we tested, Milky Ways made the most appearances, averaging 11. Each tub contained 10 Snickers, and at least nine mini-Mars Bars.
The Maltesers Teaser – previously voted people’s favourite of the eight chocolates on offer, appeared an average of six times. The tubs were slimmed down this year with Mars cutting 50g off the weight, meaning fewer chocolates all round.
Mars Wrigley UK said that “each and every chocolate is delicious to someone”, with the Celebrations mix “carefully designed” by its experts. It added: “Despite our best efforts to absorb rising costs in recent years, growing pressures have meant we’ve had to make the difficult decision to reduce the size of our Celebrations products to ensure shoppers can still enjoy their favourite mix of Celebrations treats.”
The Guardian found that Cadbury’s Roses had the “fairest” breakdown, with typically five or six of each sweet in a 550g tub. But fans of the signature truffle are likely to be disappointed, as they average just four per tub. The number of caramels varied from four to nine.
So why skimp on the green triangles and purple ones when everyone loves them? Nestlé says it groups the sweets into three categories: fruits; toffees and fudge; and nuts, chocolates and caramels, with each group accounting for roughly a third of the total.
A Nestlé spokesperson said: “We know that Quality Street fans feel very passionately about their own particular favourites, so we ensure there is something for everyone within the mix. Each year, we evaluate and reset the assortment based on a range of factors including consumer preference, cost and nutritional profile.”
One way to ensure the selection is weighted in favour of your first choice chocolates is to go for a pick and mix. For several years, John Lewis has been selling Quality Street this way, and this year is charging £17 if you need a tin and £14 if you bring your own to refill. At £1.46 or £1.21 for every 100g this is more expensive than a standard tub.
Once taken for granted as a relatively inexpensive indulgence, chocolate has become an increasingly expensive treat mainly due to the soaring cost of cocoa. In April, the price of cocoa surged to £10,137 a tonne in London but has since fallen back to approximately £8,500 a tonne, according to Expana, the commodities data group.
Andrew Moriarty, Expana’s cocoa expert, said: “Despite prices now being lower than they were in April, the reality is that they are still incredibly elevated.” Indeed the price of the key ingredients – cocoa butter and cocoa liquor – are up 280% and 183% respectively since the beginning of this year, he said.
Dairy costs, which are also an important factor in milk and white chocolate pricing, have also surged. In Europe, the cost of whole milk powder and anhydrous milk fat is up 19% and 54% respectively since the beginning of 2024. “All of these increases are the driving force behind the shrinkflation seen across chocolate products,” said Moriarty.
