{"id":18089,"date":"2016-11-09T10:51:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T10:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dutyfreehunter.com\/blog\/?p=18089"},"modified":"2019-01-22T14:24:04","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T14:24:04","slug":"toblerone-shrinks-bars-changes-shape-keep-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dutyfreehunter.com\/blog\/toblerone-shrinks-bars-changes-shape-keep-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Toblerone shrinks bars, changes shape to keep prices down"},"content":{"rendered":"

More valleys, fewer chocolate peaks: The maker of Toblerone Swiss chocolate has widened the spaces in some of its iconic, triangle-array bars, offering about 10% less chocolate for the same price. Many Toblerone fans of this duty-free shop favourite are outraged.<\/p>\n

The multinational says the move \u2014 which affects products globally but mainly in Britain \u2014 was necessary to cope with higher prices for ingredients. But many consumers were livid at the perceived sleight of hand and the change to the traditional look of the treat, first created in 1908 in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shape of the bar may have looked like the Swiss Alps before, now it’s a bit more Holland,\u201d said British consumer Tony Mathews.<\/p>\n

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For many, the Toblerone is linked to travel \u2014 a gift purchased at the airport before boarding a plane home \u2014 though it is increasingly available in supermarkets and shops.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The maker of Toblerone, Mondelez International, said that pricing targets by British discount customer Poundland prompted the change in Britain. It said the retailer, which sells goods for 1 pound ($1.22), resisted a price increase, leading to the solution of offering less chocolate instead.<\/p>\n

Mondelez said Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was not to blame. But it comes as British food retailers have faced rising prices for imported goods due to the drop in the value of the pound since the June vote.<\/p>\n

In a shift akin to widening a doughnut’s hole, the tweak in Britain involves shrinking a 170-gram Toblerone sold by British discounters such as Poundland to 150 grams, said Mondelez spokeswoman Heide Hauer. The price remains the same.<\/p>\n

Some British consumers likened the new shape to a toothless comb, others to the mouth of a crocodile. Some joked about how the issue was grabbing headlines on the same day as Americans were electing a new president.<\/p>\n

The signature 100-gram Toblerone bar and other vendors are not affected, Hauer said. But Toblerone also has trimmed its super-sized 400-gram product \u2014 often sold in airports \u2014 to 360 grams globally, for the same recommended retail price, Hauer said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Payne, executive director of the International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores (IAADFS), noted that duty-free stores sell Toblerone in a variety of sizes, so he’s not sure how the change would affect sales.<\/p>\n

Hauer from Mondelez cited \u201ca multitude\u201d of factors including rising commodity prices, a regular review of pricing and the fallout from a weakening of the Swiss franc in early 2015 that caused a spike in production costs.<\/p>\n

The switch in Britain, which began in September, was weeks in the making: Toblerone’s official Facebook page featured a post on Oct. 15 explaining that the company was facing higher costs for \u201cnumerous ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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 U.K., from the wider range of available Toblerone products,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Economist Pippa Malmgren, who has studied what she calls the corporate practice of \u201cshrinkflation,\u201d believes that the company was using the recent political situation in Britain to test to see if people would notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhole divisions of major companies\u201d are devoted to shrinking a product while keeping the price stable, she noted. She estimated that about 10% of the Toblerone candy bar was dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an art form,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is not random.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another analyst warned of a possible consumer backlash more broadly.<\/p>\n

Robert Haigh, director at consultancy Brand Finance, said the move by Mondelez was \u201cquite risky\u201d and could be seen as \u201cdeceptive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don’t seem to have the reverence for traditional confectionery that the previous owner did,\u201d said Haigh, comparing the chocolate bars to a well-known British savory spread made from yeast extract. \u201cLike Marmite, Toblerone has an impact on the cultural consciousness that far outweighs its actual popularity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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