Quality street tubs to shrink for first time in three years

Quality street tubs are shrinking by 50g for the first time in three years as the FMCG giant Nestlé attempts to cut down soaring production costs, states a recent report.

According to data from Assosia, the 650g tubs that were on sale last Christmas have been replaced by 600g tubs.

This is the first time Nestle has shrunk the size of its Quality Street tubs since 2019. They were downsized from 780g to 750g in 2017 – and then down to 720g in 2018, according to Daily Mail while Nestle shrunk them again in 2019 to the 650g tub size.

A Nestlé spokesperson told City A.M., “Each year we introduce a new Quality Street range with formats, sizes, weights and RRPs based on a range of factors including the cost of manufacturing, ingredients and transport and the preferences of our customers and consumers.”

They added that final prices put to customers at the discretion of individual retailers.At 600g, the current tubs are said to be 23 percent smaller than those sold in 2016 – equating to around 20 fewer sweets per tub.

The news comes a few months after Cadbury said it had downsized the size of its Dairy Milk sharing bar by 10 per cent as it faces inflationary pressures. The chocolate bar will be reduced from 200g to 180g, but still sold at £2.

The confectionary giant said it was “facing the same challenges” its rivals had reported when it came to “significantly increased” production costs and rising inflation.

Crisps giant Frito-Lay also downsized its bags of Doritos this year, as “inflation is hitting everyone”, a company spokesperson said at the time.

Tubs of Flora recently shrunk from 500g to 450g but the price has stayed the same as owner Upfield deals with soaring sunflower oil costs, caused by the war in Ukraine.

M&M crispy shrunk pouches by 13 per cent down from 246g grams to 213 grams despite both chocolate bags saying “more to share” while Magnum has shrunk its chocolate covered ice creams from 110 ml to 100 ml but kept packs of four at £3.