The chocolate giants have cut the size of their eggs
11:16, 15 Jan 2026
Easter is still months away, but the debate over Easter eggs has already begun. Year-on-year, millions of Easter goodies are produced for the public to sink their teeth into, but this year it has been flagged two major chocolate giants have slashed the weight of their products - but up the price.
Mars, which owns Maltesers, has cut the weight of its extra-large Easter egg from 231g in 2025 to 194g this year, which is a fall of 16 per cent.
This egg was priced at £6 in Tesco last year, but savvy shoppers have noticed, the smaller version now comes at at £7. When you look at weight, that's a 38.9 per cent increase.
READ MORE: Martin Lewis issues warning over 'scandal' impacting 5 million
Last year, the egg also included three 47g packets of Maltesers, but today, there are only two in the set, the Express reported.
Maltesers’ Teasers large egg has also dropped in weight, falling from 90g to 155g, which is a cut of 18 per cent.
Even though there has been a drop in size, the price has move from £4 to £4.50, which works out as a 38 per cent increase per 100g, The Grocer reports.
Cadbury appears to have made a similar change, with its extra-large Twirl egg now containing two small individually wrapped Twirl fingers, instead of two full sized Twirl bars.
This weight has dropped from 241g to 218g, which is around 9.5 per cent, and the price at Tesco has hiked to from £6 to £7 which is a 16.7 increase.
When looking at the cost per 100g, this is up 28.9 per cent too.
Other Cadbury items which have shrunk includes the Mini Egg line, with the family packs sitting at 256g instead of 270g, while the Wispa large egg has reduced slightly from 182.5g to 177g while hiking in price from £4 to £4.50.
A spokeswoman for Mars Wrigley UKI said: “We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can, but rising manufacturing costs, driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa, have meant that we’ve had to adjust some of our product sizes.
“It’s not a decision we take lightly, but it ensures families can still enjoy their favourite Easter products without compromising on quality or taste. All product pricing is at the discretion of the retailer.”
A spokesman for Mondelez, which owns Cadbury, said: “Any changes to our product sizes is a last resort for our business.
“However, as a food producer, we are continuing to experience significantly higher input costs across our supply chain, with ingredients such as cocoa and dairy, which are widely used in our products, costing far more than they have done previously.
“Meanwhile, other costs, like energy and transport, also remain high. This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges.
READ MORE: Wetherspoons to open first international pub in popular holiday hotspot in just weeks
“As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight across some of our range so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect. Please note retailers are free to set their own prices.”
Andrew Opie, the director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, told The Grocer the changes to size and pricing were “largely determined by the brands themselves, reflecting the costs of production they face."
He added: “Retailers are doing everything they can to offer great value to their customers despite rising costs in the food supply chain.”
Mr Opie shared the chocolate makers had been “hard hit by high global cocoa prices," however, he added wholesale costs were beginning to relax as harvests improve.