Many families around the world like to enjoy a tub of Celebrations at Christmas, but a change to the iconic chocolates has left fans fuming. And say change is ‘stealing Christmas from the common man’
Celebrations is a staple of most homes at Christmas. The sharing tubs contain a variety of different mini chocolates, from Snickers, Mars and Twix to the divisive Bounty.
This week Celebrations fans were left disappointed after getting three Bounty chocolates in a row in the popular advent calendar. However, by day four chocolate lovers breathed a sigh of relief as they opened a Galaxy.
However, Celebrations fans are still fuming after discovering a change to the iconic tubs that many share over the Christmas period – they are even smaller than last year. Slamming Mars Wrigley for going from 600g to 550g, Irish musician Garron Noone quipped on TikTok: “Stop f*****g making the Christmas sweets smaller. They’ve reduced it to 550g. That won’t even get me f*****g started. You wouldn’t even make a dog sick with that much chocolate,” however, he reiterated that it would make a dog sick, for those that take everything literally. He added: “Shrinkflation, you are stealing Christmas from the common man.”
Other chocolate lovers also noticed the change. “Wow! Just had a delivery of stock ready to be shipped out for Christmas. Celebrations tubs getting smaller each year! Tesco, Asda gonna get a few disgruntled customers this Christmas. 600g tubs now 550g but prices will inevitably go UP!,” said one person on X/Twitter.
Another fumed: “Celebrations chocolate tubs have gone even smaller this year and they expect £5 for them. Fuming,” while a third posted an eye-opening image demonstrating how the Celebrations tubs have become smaller over the years.
In the comment section people were shocked, with one person writing: “They are a rip off. The tub is heavier than the contents.” Another wrote: “I wouldn’t mind, but the price doesn’t come down accordingly.”
When approached for comment, a Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson said they had been “actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations” because they know the “cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses across the UK”.
They added: “Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done. Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary for shoppers to still be able to enjoy their favourite Celebrations treats without compromising on quality or taste.”
They have also identified solutions to lower environmental impact. That means, in addition to removing sweets, Mars Wrigley has had to shrink the tub itself so they can “reduce the plastic used in the packaging by 17%” However, they added that “pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer”.