The first photo of the new smaller sized Cherry Ripe — which has just landed in Woolworths and Coles supermarkets around Australia — has sparked an angry response from one customer.
Earlier this month, Cadbury confirmed that it was reducing the size of the iconic Aussie chocolate bar from 52g down to 44g — and keeping the price at $2.50.
At the time, a Cadbury spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au the change was made so that the chocolate was in line with health guidelines.
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“Bar sizes have been adjusted to meet the Australian Government’s Healthy Food Partnership chocolate targets which help consumers better manage their treat portions,” the spokesperson said.
But now that the reduced 44g bars have landed in store, the new smaller size is raising eyebrows.
“Looks more like a fun-sized Cherry Ripe than an actual chocolate bar,” the shopper told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Couldn’t believe how small it was, especially compared to the old Cherry Ripes. This is insanity.”
The shopper shared images of the 44g and 52g Cherry Ripe bars side by side, as well as a snap of the smaller bar next to a mobile phone.
Social media users have already voiced their frustration over the decision to reduce the size of chocolates in a heated Reddit post.
“I honestly don’t like this, Cherry Ripe is always good to have … but if they’re going to have us charge more for less, then I might not buy as much as I used to,” one said.
Another added: “This will never end until there’s nothing left.”
Wrote a third: “What they do is they shrink the thing until it’s comically small, then one day they introduce a new jumbo/party/family size depending on the product for something that used to be the normal size.
“The jumbo obviously costs more, until over time that starts to shrink too. It’s a tale as old as time.”
Added one more: “It’s cherry rip now.”
New serving sizes
A Cadbury spokesperson earlier said the bar sizes were made smaller to comply with health recommendations.
“Bar sizes have been adjusted to meet the Australian Government’s Healthy Food Partnership chocolate targets which help consumers better manage their treat portions,” the spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Cadbury also aims to use ~50 per cent (on a mass balance basis) recycled plastic for its wrappers across its core chocolate portfolio, including bars, produced in Australia.”
The Australian Government’s Healthy Food Partnership is a voluntary collaboration that brings together government, food industry and public health representatives.
The aim of the partnership is improve the health of Australians by encouraging manufacturers to promote appropriate serving sizes, increase healthy eating option and reduce sugar, sodium and saturated fat in processed food and drinks.
It also supports suppliers of foods for infants and young children to produce foods that align with dietary guidelines, enabling parents to serve their children foods that support healthy eating and the establishment of sensible food preferences.
For more information, head here.
