3 hours ago
3
Shoppers are shelling out for smaller eggs again this Easter as shrinkflation takes another bite out of the favourite seasonal treat.
The price of popular branded chocolate eggs has risen by more than 40% in some cases while some have also shrunk in size, according to research by the consumer champion Which?.
At Asda, this year the Galaxy milk chocolate extra large Easter egg is £5.97 and weighs in at 210g. That compares with £4.98 for a 252g egg in 2025 – a 44% increase in the price per 100g. Tesco is selling the same egg at the higher price of £7, £1 more than last year.
In another example from Asda, Which? found the M&M’s Crispy Easter egg has shrunk from 192g to 156g this year while the price has risen by 49p to £3.97, a 40% increase per gram.
In Tesco, Which? found a Maltesers milk chocolate Easter egg had slimmed down from 231g to 194g but gone up in price from £6 to £7 – meaning the unit price per 100g had gone up by 39%.
At Morrisons, Which? found a Cadbury Mini Eggs milk chocolate Easter egg had gone from £4 for 193.5g last year to £5 for 181g this year, making it 34% more expensive per 100g.
Also at Morrisons, someone has taken a bite out of the Toblerone The Edgy Egg milk chocolate Easter egg with truffles. It cost £14 for 298g last year; now it is £15 for 256g, making it 25% more expensive per 100g.
Chocolate has been getting more expensive for several years because of poor harvests in west Africa, in particular Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where more than half of the world’s cocoa beans are harvested.
While cocoa prices have fallen back from a peak of more than £9,000 a tonne at the end of 2024 to about £2,000 a tonne now, between January 2024 and January 2026 cocoa cost at least double the current level.
Confectionery companies say they have swallowed some of the cocoa price hit, but the magnitude of the increase has resulted in higher prices on supermarket shelves.
Which? tracks 25,000 products sold by the major supermarkets. This data shows that while overall food and drink inflation slowed to 3.9% in February, the cost of chocolate is up 9.7%, driven by ongoing global supply issues.
A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley, which owns the Galaxy, M&Ms and Maltesers brands, said: “We always aim to absorb rising costs wherever possible. However, ongoing pressures, including the well-documented rises in the cost of cocoa, mean we have had to make carefully considered changes. As with all our products, final pricing remains at the discretion of individual retailers.”
With shoppers getting less bang for their buck, Reena Sewraz, the senior money and retail editor at Which?, said: “It’s disappointing to see Easter treats aren’t safe from shrinkflation. Manufacturers are quietly giving shoppers less for more, so it’s no wonder people feel cheated.”
She added: “To ensure you’re getting a fair deal, always check the ‘price per 100g’ on the shelf-edge label rather than just the headline price. This is the only way to accurately compare different brands and sizes.”
