The eggstraordinary cost of Easter: chocolate eggs soar in price
Unwrapping a chocolate egg is as much a part of Easter as bunnies, a long weekend and hot cross buns.
But some popular Easter eggs have been hit by soaring prices or shrinkflation as global cocoa prices have reached a historic high.
Here we reveal some of the Easter eggs that have been hardest hit and explore why the price of chocolate has risen so much.
Which Easter eggs have gone up the most in price?
The Which? food price inflation tracker has revealed that chocolate now costs 12.6% more than this time last year - a far higher rise than the 5.6% average inflation across all supermarket food and drink.
And some Easter chocolates were up by much more. Here are some of the worst examples we found:
- Maltesers Truffles Luxury Easter Egg (286g): from £8 to £13 at Waitrose - up 62.5%
- Lindt Five Gold Bunny Milk Chocolate (50g): from £2 to £3.11 at Asda - up 55.6%
- Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Egg Plus Milk Mini Eggs (215g): from £6.50 to £10 at Tesco - up 53.8%
- Ferrero Rocher Golden Easter Egg (250g): from £10 to £15 at Tesco - up 50%
- Kinder Surprise Giant Egg (220g): from £10 to £15 at Tesco - up 50%
- Maltesers Mini Bunnies White Chocolate Bag (58g): from £1 to £1.50 at Tesco - up 50%
- Terrys Chocolate Orange Mini Eggs (80g): from £1 to £1.50 at Tesco - up 50%
- Thorntons Milk Chocolate Dinosaur / Unicorn Egg (151g): from £3 to £4.50 at Tesco - up 50%
- Cadbury Mini Eggs Large Pouch (1kg): from £8.86 to £12.95 at Ocado - up 46.2%
All prices were averages for the month of February 2023 vs February 2024, and include regular discounts but not multibuys or loyalty prices.
- Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket?
Are Easter eggs shrinking?
We've also found some examples of Easter eggs shrinking in size but not price.
Known as 'shrinkflation', this enables manufacturers to cut their production costs by using fewer ingredients, which - in times of high inflation - can help them limit the cost increases that get passed on to retailers and, in turn, consumers.
We found the following examples of Easter eggs that weigh less than last year but still cost the same or even more:
- Mars Milk Chocolate large Easter egg - from 252g to 201g at Morrisons and Tesco
- Smarties Orange Chocolate Easter egg - from 226g to 188g at Asda and Tesco
- Terry's Chocolate Orange Easter egg with Mini Eggs - from 230g to 200g at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco
- Twix Milk Chocolate Easter egg - from 246g to 200g at Tesco
While you might think that shrinkflation is a sneaky tactic, there are no rules against it as long as the packaging is labelled with the correct size, weight and ingredients.
Why is chocolate rising so fast in price?
Global cocoa prices have soared to a record high due to dry weather in West Africa, with prices roughly doubling in a year.
Last month, US chocolate maker Hershey said its earnings would likely be hit, and Mondelez, which makes Cadbury chocolate, said the rising cost of both cocoa and sugar was a challenge.
West Africa produces around 70% of the world's cocoa, a key ingredient in chocolate highly sensitive to weather changes.
- Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket
What about food inflation generally?
Annual supermarket food and drink inflation has dipped again to 5.6% in the month to the end of February this year compared to the same period in 2023.
This compares to 8% for the month to the end of December 2023.
Our supermarket food and drink inflation tracker was launched in December 2022. It saw inflation peak at 17.2% in March last year. Since then, it's been steadily dropping.
However, own-label budget-range groceries are still rising by 16.7% - far more than standard own-label, premium or branded groceries.
- Find out more: Which? food price inflation tracker
What do the supermarkets and manufacturers say?
We approached all of the supermarkets mentioned for comment on the Easter egg pricing examples above. We also approached the manufacturers of Mars, Smarties, Terrys and Twix.
Only Mars, Nestle and Waitrose responded with a comment.
Mars Wrigley UK, which also makes Twix, said: 'We have been trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations, as we know the increase in the cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses across the UK. Reducing the size of some of our products, whilst raising prices, is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary for shoppers to still be able to enjoy their favourite Easter eggs without compromising on quality or taste.'
Nestlé, which makes Smarties, said: 'Like every manufacturer, we have been experiencing significant cost increases making it much more expensive to manufacture our products. We have been working to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. However, in order to maintain quality and taste, it has been necessary to make adjustments to the weight of some products. Retail pricing is always at the sole discretion of individual retailers.'
Waitrose said: 'Thanks to our ongoing focus on price, the eggs that feature in this study are now considerably cheaper than the prices quoted. The Maltesers Egg, for example, is available for £8.50 rather than £13.'
About Which?'s food and drink tracker
Our tracker looks at 20 popular categories of food and drink at eight supermarkets — Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
It compares average prices across the same three-month and one-month periods year-on-year, including discounts but not multibuys or loyalty card offers.
Figures are weighted based on supermarket market share and the sales volume of each product category.
- Find out more: Which? food price inflation tracker
