Crème Egg recipe change hits Cadbury sales by £6 mn

Exactly a year ago Cadbury pulled out the traditional Creme Egg recipe, which included a Dairy Milk shell, in favour of a cheaper version.

The decision did not go down well with consumers, who were not in favour of dropping the previous method of making Creme Eggs with a Dairy Milk shell and switching to a standard cocoa mix.

As a result, commentators say, it appeared that many consumers had abandoned the chocolate treats.

The decision comes four years after the Bournville-based firm was taken over by Kraft.

The iconic Easter treats had been a feature on supermarket shelves in the UK for almost 50 years.

Research by analysts IRI revealed overall sales of Cadbury's branded Easter eggs fell by around £10 million last year, with Creme Egg sales taking the hardest hit.

Demand for novelty Egg 'n' Spoon chocolates was down by £1.2 million, which saw Cadbury's share of the £139-million market shrink from 42 per cent to 40 per cent.

Cadbury's marketing manage Claire Low, however denied that the recipe change was behind the sales drop.

She told trade The Grocer magazine,  ''The fundamentals of Cadbury Creme Egg remain exactly the same."

Low revealed that Cadbury was gearing up for egg wars in the cut-throat £139-million market, with the launch of a new range of Easter treats.

She added, ''We will launch new seasonal products, including a brand new Easter pack design.''

According to the The Grocer, Easter 2016 would be just as fierce with Cadbury staging a fightback while Mars raised the stakes by launching Galaxy Golden Eggs and a new family pack of its popular MaltEaster bunny range.

Ferrero also had plans to hit Creme Egg sales by bringing out a limited edition Kinder Joy egg with one half made of chocolate and the other containing a toy.

Cadbury had been selling the cream filled egg since 1923. The modern Creme Egg was launched in 1971.