Caramac fans are dismayed after the food multinational Nestlé confirmed that it was discontinuing the caramel-flavoured bar.
It will bring an end to more than 60 years of production of the confectionery, which has gained a dedicated following since its UK launch in 1959 but has recently suffered from declining sales.
“We are very sorry to disappoint fans of Caramac,” Nestlé said in a statement. “There has been a steady decline in its sales over the past few years and unfortunately we had to make the difficult decision to discontinue it.
“We know fans will be disappointed to see it go, but this change will enable us to focus on our best-performing brands, as well as develop exciting new innovations to delight consumers’ tastebuds.”
Caramac, which is a portmanteau of the word caramel and the name of its original manufacturers Mackintosh, was produced in Norwich until 1996, when it moved to Nestlé’s Fawdon factory near Newcastle. It is not a chocolate bar as it contains no cocoa. Nor does it have egg or gelatine, so is suitable for vegetarians.
Nestlé, whose headquarters are in Switzerland, confirmed it was planning to close the Fawdon site last year and move production overseas, in a move that trade union representatives said would result in the loss of 474 jobs.
The company denied that the decision to discontinue the Caramac bar had been influenced by the factory closure. “Sales of Caramac have not returned to pre-pandemic levels,” a spokesperson said. They added Caramac’s performance had been assessed during a regular review of its product lines.
It is understood that had Caramac sales been strong enough production would have been moved to another Nestlé factory. Fans flocked to X, formerly Twitter, to air their grievances over Caramac’s discontinuation.
One user said: “What. Please. God. No! Nestlé please tell me you’re not ditching #caramac it’s the only ‘chocolate’ I eat! Don’t let it disappear! I love the stuff!!”
Another complained: “This is a national scandal, how can they get rid of Caramac?”
One user added: “I know a lot is made about how the Brits don’t get upset about anything, but the ire being levelled at @NestleUKI for getting rid of #Caramac shows there’s fight in the old dog yet.”
