Cadbury admits stuffing up their new chocolate recipe
After near universal condemnation and the families that advised Cadbury they wanted smaller blocks that were ‘softer to bite’ nowhere to be seen, Cadbury announced yesterday that they will be dropping the palm oil component of their chocolate blocks.
I only mustered up the courage to try the new blocks just weeks ago but like most people found the new ‘taste’ horrendously bad.
Noticing that the price for the new blocks kept dropping over the past few months I wasn’t all too surprised that they’ve backed down.
I’d be willing to bet Cadbury’s backflip was due to customers having stopped buying their chocolate in droves, although some seemingly naive customers did persist. Just last weekend I was standing in line at the supermarket when I saw a guy clearly looking to get laid put down a box of condoms, some steaks and a small block of Cadbury chocolate on the conveyor belt.
‘Dude seriously you’re not getting laid with that shit. One bite and you’re going to be up half the night discussing why you thought it’d be a good idea to ruin her night completely.’
‘woah really? Thanks for the heads up, cock-in-the-air highfive!’
Cadbury managing director Mark Callaghan fills us in on the details:
“We are removing palm oil and returning to a cocoa butter only recipe for Cadbury’s entire moulded block chocolate range, including our flagship Cadbury Dairy Milk brand and product lines such as Old Gold and Dream,” Cadbury Australia managing director Mark Callaghan said yesterday.
“We will soon commence the production of a cocoa butter only recipe at Claremont in the coming weeks.”
Whilst I welcome the change, the thing that gets me though is the contempt they had for their customers when introducing the the change. I mean did they seriously expect anyone was going to believe the ‘you told us this is what you want’ market research bullshit they came up with?
Instead of just admitting they were cutting costs and experimenting Cadbury instead chose to market spin and treat Australians like morons.
Unfortunately they don’t seem to be budging on the size of the blocks. No word on whether or not the price is going to go back up to pre-palm oil levels, one would assume that it would and they’ll just take the size difference as profit and hope nobody mentions anything.
For me, this gesture is too little too late and I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive the company for thinking Australian chocolate lovers were going to just bend over and keep on buying. Sorry guys but I still won’t be buying a Cadbury chocolate blocks regularly anytime soon. Maybe on the odd occasion just to indulge myself in a little bit of TopDeck.
On my last post about Cadbury there wasn’t one person that commented positively on the change, so now that they’ve backed down and reverted to the old recipe will you be buying the blocks again or have you too been permanently stung the wiser?
August 20th, 2009 at 9:56 am Captain Dan(Quote)
I hope the “Genius” that came up with the idea of a new recipe and a way to save a few bucks is sacked – that would save some money. If one of your core businesses is chocolate and you change it so no-one likes it anymore, I would have thought that is as big a stuff-up as you can make. I am with you – I bought some Lindt the other day and Cadbury is gooonneee…
August 20th, 2009 at 10:13 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Oh definately, I noticed the guy informing us was different to the guy with the sales speak from a few months ago.
Heads need to roll in the marketing dept as I imagine they’ve been looking at some pretty depressing sales figures the last month. Think stock market crash chart depressing.
August 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am Suzie(Quote)
It won’t make much difference to me. The main thing I like about Cadbury is the colour of their shop I saw in the UK a few years ago…very purple. I much prefer Nestle.
August 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm Elbowgrease(Quote)
Too late for me, Lindt Lindor are my new poison. Give’em a try.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:38 pm Chris(Quote)
I’ll think about buying another block of “cocoa butter only recipe” Cadbury Dairy Milk if they re-instate the 250 gram blocks.
The 220 gram blocks are still the same price for 30 grams less at most stores.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:23 pm Karen(Quote)
What have they done to our beautiful chocolate – never again will my family purchase cadburys chocolates. We are moving onto the Lindt brand now. When will companies learn if its not broken dont fix it.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:41 pm Smithee(Quote)
I agree that the worst aspect of this whole thing is the utter contempt the company has for its customers. That’s what really annoys me and that’s why I definitely won;t be buying Cadbury again. Like many other I’ve found an alternative and am now happy to stick with that.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:45 am kazzie(Quote)
omg. had no idea about the change to cadbury receipe, but i got online to contact cadbury because after 40 years of eating their product, my main food source, i suddenly have an allergic reaction whereas my tongue lips and throat swell up very painful as teeth cutting into swollen tongue, wondering is this because of new receipe. ???????
September 1st, 2009 at 9:33 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Possibly Kazzie, you might be allergic to palm oil.
That was the major change, I’m not sure if they did anything else though. Might be worth getting in contact with Cadbury directly.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm wildtony(Quote)
I sent them an email about their new shite size blocks, crap chocolate and the removal of whole nuts from their hazelnut blocks (my fav). Got the same spin reply as everyone else.
The reality is that if there really was a market for choc blocks containing shredded hazelnuts, then why were their competitors selling an identical product to Cadbury’s rather than differentiating their product to satisfy this supposed market demand?
The truth behind the marketing BS is that whole hazelnuts wouldn’t fit in the smaller blocks.
Fortunately finding a replacement involved looking one shelf up on the supermarket aisle. I have now left Cadbury’s remaining crumb covered customers to gum their new ‘softer’ resized crap chocolate, may they choke on it.
Whittakers whole hazelnut is now my block of choice.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:32 pm Wallywilbert(Quote)
Like everyone else I was so disappointed with Cadbury’s dirty tricks. Who ever convinced them that the way to make money was to change a trusted and loved recipe and get people to pay more for less seriously needs their head read. Haven’t they heard of Brand Loyalty? I hope they go bust!
September 15th, 2009 at 12:55 am Pete(Quote)
So some bozo marketer at Cadbury decided to rip consumers off, and lie-by-omission about it. Well, even if they re-instate ‘some’ cocoa butter (as well as whatever else cheap and nasty fat they can find to keep that cocoa level at a bare minimum), I won’t buy it again. Like everyone else I know, I’ve switched to Whittakers. It’s cocoa content is much higher than Cadbury’s, and it consequently tastes a whole lot better.
ps. those inane ads were lame. I mean, Phil Collins as an ape was just stupid.
September 15th, 2009 at 9:58 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
I’m totally with you on the loyalty thing. Chocolate is almost like a religion to me and I won’t be going back to Cadbury anytime soon.
I kinda liked the ads though, entertaining to watch once or twice. I did like the ape one better then the eyebrow kids one though (that girls face just creeps me out little).
September 17th, 2009 at 12:32 am Ted Dawson(Quote)
I initially missed the news reports and found out by trial and (massive) error. I have been a chocoholic for all of my 36 years. I have no trouble in polishing off a family block in one sitting. But this new packaging – I couldn’t get through 1 row! It was repulsive and sickly. I was infuriated upon learning what had happened and the audacious spin they gave us. Yes, we know the nation is full of gullible suckers when it comes from the media or politicians, but give them a little effing credit. Softer to bite?! Smaller packaging to combat obesity?!!!
Hadn’t these marketing rocket scientists ever heard of New Coke? Take a product that holds the biggest market share and is almost universally loved by the public, then tweak it into something that utterly sucks to try and make a few extra mill (mere pocket change when added to the millions in profit made each year already).
I’m not sure if the recipe has reverted back to the old or they’ve just removed the palm oil. I have doubts about whether it tastes as good as before. I’ve already developed a taste for the superior Whittakers, so that may be the reason.
Other brands? Lindt I find vastly overrated in plain block form. It seems that people think swirly ornate writing and a made in Switzerland label makes it good quality. Nestle is sickly sweet. Red Tulip make the best easter eggs. IMHO…
September 17th, 2009 at 8:40 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Last I heard they’ve removed the oil and gone back to a cocoa butter recipe but I’m not sure if the level of cocoa butter was the same as it was before, I haven’t dared to try a block yet. One bitten, twice… well there is no twice in chocolate land.
Whittikers and Aldi Belgium Chocolatuer seem to be the choice for cheapish chocolate. I lean towards the Aldi stuff although having said that I haven’t been into an Aldi in about a month thanks to Costco.
Hey I just realised I haven’t had chocolate in about a month either!
March 28th, 2010 at 9:36 pm Paulie(Quote)
WTF is wrong with everyone, I didnt realise that New Zealand was full of such un-educated hippies. Palm oil is a sustainable product vital to the strugling malaysian economy.
Still an overwieght New Zealand public is more concerned about the taste of their chocolate and the well being of apes, than starving human beings.
Yeah thats right, your not actaully doing the world a favour buying non cadbury chocolate, so pull your chubby finger out of your ass, lay off the weed and think twice about what “cause” you are actually fighting for.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:19 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
…says the guy commenting on Australian story written by an Australian dealing with chocolate sold in Australia.
So what now, if Palm oil makes chocolate taste like crap we’re just supposed to stomach it for the sake of the Malaysian economy?
And as for sustainability;
Yeah sounds awesome, let’s keep chopping down those forests and destroying the land. All in the name of Malaysia’s precious economy.
Cmon, this is chocolate we’re talking about here. Why do you sound surprised that people care more about the taste then starving human beings.
FFS HOW DARE THEY RUIN THE TASTE OF OUR CHOCOLATE! If the Malaysian’s are to blame then they bloody well deserve to starve for a bit. Maybe next time they’ll think twice before destroying my favourite food group.
March 30th, 2010 at 9:36 pm Da people(Quote)
Stopped eating chocolate when the cadbury recipe changed. Have now lost 5kg. MMMmmmmm
April 11th, 2010 at 7:02 pm Lucy(Quote)
Ok, I’m a tad confused – not about the above issues, but about Cadbury chocolate. From the dates, Cadbury changed to Palm oil in May 2009 and yes, I rated the new ‘taste’ as chewy (and stopped buying). Then in Aug 2009 Cadbury realised their mistake and changed to a non-palm oil chocolate. Not sure what batches I tried their chocolate from, but I didn’t notice a change – still chewy. (Can anyone comment on whether they really did change??)
Now, April 2010, I surprisingly had a small mini cadbury from a multi pack of individually wrapped pieces – the ‘fun bags’ or whatever they call them. THe surprise was it tasted GOOD – like before they even mucked with the recipe, like circa April 2009.
With my hopes greatly raised, I also noticed that the family blocks have changed their packaging (now fairtrade, and proclaiming the tired message of new packaging same great taste). The ingredients had no mention of ‘vegetable oil’. Hip Hip Hooray, I thought, they really have changed! So I bought a block. HORROR. The smell was heavily dull woody cocoa. The taste is like compound chocolate and STINGS YOUR MOUTH. It’s gone from bad to worse. What is going on here???
Can anyone explain?
April 11th, 2010 at 7:43 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Chocolate, well Cadbury chocolate anyway, has a decent enough shelf life doesn’t it?
I’m guessing that there might be some massive lag between them making the announcement to switch back from palm oil and what’s being sold in shops.
Could also be they had to deplete their palm oil reserves before making the switch back too which would have added to the delay.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:50 am Harry(Quote)
I checked just before Easter and the family blocks still listed vegetable oil in the ingredients… so I bought Whittakers instead it’s better anyway.
btw… I’m not a sheep-shagger.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:35 pm Lucy(Quote)
Hmm, yes the stockpile and lag would perhaps account for the mini chocs in the fun bag tasting good.
But what about this NEW fair trade stuff which has no vege fat in its ingredient list. What is making it taste so awful – let alone sting the mouth??? Anyone else tried it?
April 12th, 2010 at 12:53 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Harry
Seriously?? They announced the revert back in August of last year! If Cadbury are still producing chocolate with the modified recipe then that’s pretty deceptive.
Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury anymore of hopping down the local supermarket and checking for myself, so I can’t confirm.
@Lucy
The packaging alone might not indicate the age of the ingredients used. I guess depending on how much oil Cadbury bought they might still be working through using it all up.
On the other hand perhaps they’ve gone and changed the recipe again. If they’ve kept it secret I wouldn’t blame them after the furore the last change prompted. Mind you I still think killing off your core market by changing the taste of your primary product is a stupid business move however.
It’s not like people aren’t going to notice.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:33 pm carol fitzgerald(Quote)
easter 2010 cadburys eggs still had vegetable fat in some of them, I went to red tulip. Their new blocks still have veg fat.
I suggested they take them all off the shelves as it is permanently cheap and no one is buying. The aldi whole hazelnut is nice and only $3.00. The longer they leave it there the more likely we will find others that taste better.
I dont trust cadburys to tell the truth what a shame they have fallen out of favour with us as we held them in high regard 18 months ago. When i emailed cadbury i didnt get a reply.
April 21st, 2010 at 3:40 pm Will(Quote)
I stopped buying Cadbury when the new recipe came in. It tasted so fatty and slimey thanks to the palm oil. Was also shocked at the new packaging and drop from 250g to 200g. At the time, I am certain one of the Cadbury Spokesmen said they were reducing the size to help the obesity problem in Australia. This was at the same time Mars Bars reduced their size. Notice the price stayed the same though. What bastards.
Anyway, I was given one of those Cadbury Easter egg trains the other week. I didnt realise that Cadbury had apparently changed back the recipe. But guess what! Not on my easter eggs, they didn’t. They still hat the palm oil in them. The chocolate tasted revolting. They ended up in bin. Seriously, the 85 cent Aldi Easter Bunny tasted ten times better. I imagine Cadbury’s response to this would be that the return to the old recipe is still being implemented and the Easter eggs missed out.
I prefer Aldi chocolate now anyway, and will never ever buy Cadbury again. I don’t trust Cadbury. Even if they do return to cocoa butter, the percentage will be really tiny. Their product is really just over-sugared confectionary, not proper chocolate at all.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:35 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Yeah I’m not sure what to make of these reports of Cadbury’s easter chocolates still using palm oil and tasting like garbage. Traditionally easter chocolate is compound chocolate rubbish anyway unless you buy premium stuff.
Maybe Cadbury saw it as a way to offload some of the palm oil reserves they might have had?
Totally agree with you on the Aldi chocolate claim. Living in Taiwan now I truly miss good chocolate.
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:33 pm Will(Quote)
Interesting point about easter eggs usually comprising compound chocolate. Although years ago I had Cabury’s eggs and they tasted fine.
I’m now sticking with the delicious Aldi Choceur Halzenut 200 grams. It is delicious, has a good cocoa butter content and is made in Europe (where they really know how to make chocolate. Also, there is NO sign of any vegetable oil.
Is it any wonder more and more people are shopping at Aldi? And this block of chocolate only cost $2.79 everyday, not just on special like Cadbury used to do once in awhile.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:53 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Totally agree with you on the Aldi chocolate… loved it while I was still in Australia.
We really need to discuss something else, all this talk of delicious Aldi chocolate is making me freaking homesick!
April 25th, 2010 at 10:34 pm Will(Quote)
Ok, let’s discuss Nestles then. Some comments on here say that Nestle don’t use palm oil but they did. I’ve always liked the odd Kit Kat and today bought one of those Kit Kat Family Blocks. I was surprised to read on the back that it contains vegetable fat. Good to see that Greenpeace are boycotting Nestles. I will no longer buy Kit Kat: I will not support fake chocolate, and I will not buy a product that no longer tastes like it once did.
April 27th, 2010 at 3:25 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Does vegetable fat in chocolate automatically mean palm oil is being used? I’m not too familiar on the ingredients used in chocolate making but is there any reason vegetable fat doesn’t just mean vegetable oil?
I’m not saying vegetable oil is any better but I’m just curious as to why Cadbury wouldn’t just have palm oil on the packaging (negative publicity aside).
April 27th, 2010 at 6:04 pm Will(Quote)
Was talking about this today. A friend asked the same question. Palm Oil has such a bad reputation now, the word is out that by using it we are destroying essential oragutang trees.
Cadbury and Nestle knew this, so it was easier to disguise it with the label vegetable oil. I noticed many Cadbury’s family blocks today still had the vegetable oil component, so they are taking their sweet time replacing these older blocks.
The solution is simple for all of us. Continue to avoid Cadbury’s and Nestle til they get it right. Just purchase the delicious European chocolates that Aldi sell.
May 12th, 2010 at 5:36 pm Elton(Quote)
Just wanted to warn everyone that some stores are still stocking the Cadbury recipe which includes palm oil. Today I purchased a block from Big W thinking that it was probably OK now but it was horrible.
I took it back to Big W and to give them credit, they let me swap it for a Whittakers block.
Ozsoapbox: I’m not sure of the answer to your question because I think palm oil can be classed in the “family” of vegetable fat. However, in the case of Cadburys I believe that if it states “Vegetable Fat” in the list of ingredients then it is the palm oil recipe.
CONSUMER BEWARE: Before purchasing Cadburys, do a quick scan of the ingredients for the dreaded “Vegetable Fat”.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:45 pm Will(Quote)
Hi Elton
I was checking Cadubry’s again today in a major supermarket. Most blocks still contained the vegetable fat (ie. Palm Oil). They have already admitted ages ago that the vegetable fat means palm oil. They are just being BLOODY SLOW to ship out blocks with the old recipe we prefer. Or it could be that shops still have so much old stock with the vegetable fat that Cadbury’s wont produce new ones until these are sold. Well I aint buying their crap. Nor should anyone put up with their reduced sized family blocks.
Aside from the delicious Aldi Blocks, I am also buying Whittakers, which is 250 grams!!! Whittakers is pretty cheap at Big W and they have a great range too. If you look at the back of Whittakers, there is NO SIGN of vegetable fat.
Just think of all the money Cadbury’s has lost by being so slow to bring back the old recipe. Think how many people have since moved onto other brands, and now don’t need to ever return to Cadbury.
Just goes to show how bad the marketing team at Cadbury’s is. Suck eggs I say.
May 15th, 2010 at 12:53 am Lucy(Quote)
Unfortunately, as posted a little while back, some of the ‘original’ recipe has indeed made it’s way to the shelves. (I checked, no vege fat! and got excited, then really disappointed and now really mad!)
My conclusion (based on the awful odour and taste and that it stung my mounth) is that they have not put in any vege fat. But they damn well have CHANGED THE RECIPE TO SOMETHING ELSE COSTCUTTING AND VILE. Thanks though everyone for the Aldi choc recommendations!
May 15th, 2010 at 3:37 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Wouldn’t whatever it is be required to be on the ingredients list? I mean if it’s making such a big impact on the taste and texture surely it’s not in trace amounts that Cadbury can get away with not including it?
Nobody on the planet seems happy with this cheap ingredients crap, vegetable/palm oil or otherwise. If I was Cadbury I’d stop stuffing around with their chocolate recipe, start liquidating their crappy taste stock in bulk volume and get the old recipe blocks back on the shelves pronto.
I imagine Cadbury’s profit has taken a hammering these last twelve months.
May 15th, 2010 at 4:39 pm Will(Quote)
How come the other chocolate companies aren’t cost cutting but Cadbury’s feel they need to?
They are continuing to lie to the public. Saying they have removed the vegetable fat/palm oil yet 12 months on many people are still either finding wrappers saying this crap is in it, or finding the taste is still bad.
Cadbury’s used to make a packet out of me, now they haven’t had any money from me in ages. I imagine if others have also turned to Whittakers or Aldi, then they will end up shutting shop.
They are a greedy company. They thought they could trick us all.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:32 am Erica(Quote)
Sorry, I just had to comment after Harry so wrongly talked about palm oil being sustainable. Um, hello? There have been entire campaigns going on against the use of palm oil because its manufacture is destroying old forests, not to mention threatening species like the orangutans with extinction.
Also, I have to agree with the Aldi comments – organic and fairtrade for the win. Although one nice thing is that Cadbury has finally made its Dairy milk chocolate fair trade, and I’ll admit to buying a block and scoffing it last week.
May 24th, 2010 at 7:47 pm redcliffe62(Quote)
I was not aware of all this regarding palm oil, I did wonder why Cadbury chocolate now seemed pretty crap though.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:02 am Will(Quote)
The other day I decided to give Cadbury’s another chance. Alot of the new stock had the ‘vegetable oil’ (palm oil) removed from the content listing on the back of the packaging.
Something still doesn’t taste right. I have a sneaking suspicion that are still slipping in the palm oil but not mentioning it, The chocolate still tastes slimy.I still haven’t forgiven them for making the pieces smaller either. What a joke.
Looks like I will be sticking with Whittakers or Aldi.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:04 am Lyn(Quote)
Well, well how enlightening. I had not eaten any Cadbury’s chocolate for a while until about six weeks ago. I have tried it three times over that time and found it’s taste foul.
I was compelled to go to the website only to read a political type response about why they changed the recipe. I then thought is my husband & I the only ones who notice the changed taste so I Googled the issue and here you all are.
I just dug my ‘new cardboard wrapper’ out of the bin and notice it mentions “Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fat among other things. No Palm Oil or Vegetable Oil and yet I distinctly noticed the difference from when I last consumed this chocolate a long time ago and yet I am supposedly consuming the reverted recipe I guess????
Aldi here I come!!!
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:38 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
General consensus seems to be that any mention of ‘vegetable fat’ or ‘vegetable oil’ on a pack of Cadbury chocolate means it’s got palm oil in it.
Why this is still occuring after Cadbury said they were reverting back to the old recipe last august is anyone’s guess.
I’ve actually fired off an email to Cadbury about this tonight, I’ll update if I hear anything back.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:35 pm Will(Quote)
Lyn – congratulations on taking the plunge and trying Aldi from now on. I bought one of their yummy blocks AGAIN today. Generous in size, and good in price too.
I noticed in the Woolworths catalogue this week, they were selling Cadbury’s blocks two for $5. Obviously a marketing ploy, but give up Cadburys. You can’t fool our tongues.
Lyn you may notice new blocks from Cadbury saying “Same great taste” with no mention of vegetable oil mentioned on the back, but the taste is still bad. You can detect the oil. I gave them a second chance the other week to find this out.
June 4th, 2010 at 5:27 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Kudos to Cadbury for the speedy reply;
Make sure the use by date of any Cadbury blocks you buy is after 22/11/2010 and you should be right. No mention of why it took so long though.
June 5th, 2010 at 7:01 pm Will(Quote)
OzSoapbox – It doesn’t really change anything. We have all seen stock with the vegetable oil removed from the label, but the taste is still bad, not to mention the 200 gram block, when they should put it back to 250 grams.
Just because they emailed you back quickly doesn’t mean anything. They are just telling people what they want to hear. Did you ask them why their chocolate still tastes bad?
June 5th, 2010 at 9:18 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Presumably till Cadbury switch back to the old recipe. I’m not sure what the lead time is for use by dates with their chocolate.
I guess if it still takes like rubbish after November then they’ve got something to answer for.
June 16th, 2010 at 5:32 pm ChocoH(Quote)
I went of Cadbury’s all together when they changed the recipe. How arrogant and stupid to change the most popular chocolate recipe in Australia and then tell us it’s what we wanted. Must have been done by someone without taste buds.
I was so desperate I bought a whole box of old recipe fund raising chocolate someone had left over. Once this was gone I tried all the other chocolates but none grabbed me like the old Cadbury’s. It was actually good for my diet not to each chocolate.
Now the recipe has changed again the chocolate is definitely better but I’m not convinced it is the old recipe. I can stop at one piece and I could not do that with the original recipe. It may have no palm oil and only cocoa butter but my taste buds tell me the recipe is not the same as the original.
June 17th, 2010 at 9:57 am Will(Quote)
ChocoH. Looks like you might be switching to Whittakers or Aldi chocolate too?
I have to say that two of my friends also noticed the difference in taste. They said they will no longer buy it despite the packaging saying “Same great taste”. It clearly tastes like their is still vegetable oil in it.
Such a pity. They had the Aussie population at their feet until they tried cutting corners. And to think they also thought they could fool people by dropping the weight and repackaging it in cardboard.
As my friend pointed out “the pieces are so much smaller now, not high like they used to be”.
My advice to Cadburys: Go back to the old wrappers, bring back the 250grams, and for god’s sake, bring back the correct recipe. YOU FOOLS!
June 29th, 2010 at
[...] then four months later Cadbury admitted they’d made a gigantic mistake in altering their chocolate recipe and vowed to remove the [...]
July 5th, 2010 at 5:31 pm wjb(Quote)
SOrry I bought some “on special” today from Coles. New packing, “same great taste”.
Rubbish. It’s still not like it used to be. Soft, smaller, funny taste. We can’t all be stupid.
Until is say “BACK TO THE ORIGINAL” I won’t be buying again.
Anyway, Aldi and Whittakers is really good. If you haven’t tried them, give them a go. Aldi is good value. Whittakers deserve our support for being a local region (NZ) company
Shame, again, on you Cadbury!
July 20th, 2010 at 9:25 pm Andrew(Quote)
I just threw a block out. Will never buy again.
I’ve moved from the suburbs to the country to get away from all the things I hate about the way Australia is going, I no longer vote because there is no point. Ive just got Telstra out of my ife because I found out they totally ripped me off for the last 12months and now even chocolate sux. I’ve started smoking again.
I hate the way Australia is going. Thanks Cadbury, now even you suck! And we as people are powerless.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:35 pm Rod(Quote)
I just tried the “Same great Taste”, had to spit it out.
Won’t buy unless it goes back to the Original Recipe and the old thick block 250grams
August 5th, 2010 at 8:19 pm Vic(Quote)
Looks like cadbury is at it again today 5th August 2010 the block of nut chocolate I bought tasted like the Crazy Clarks imported shit!
Has anyone else noticed this?
I though they had gone back to their original recipe. I THINK WE ARE BEING CONNED
August 6th, 2010 at 9:55 am Will500(Quote)
Hi Vic. I noticed that too!
I also noticed that they are using chopped up nuts rather than whole nuts like they once did. This is probably because the smaller mouth size pieces wont let them put whole nuts in.
Have you also noticed how many supermarkets are doing Cadbury specials each week? Desperately trying to get their market back. I noticed too that Woolworths Select brand has it’s own chcolate now with a high cocoa content that Cadburys.
August 7th, 2010 at 5:31 pm wjb(Quote)
oh don’t you know Will500, “consumers LOVE the smaller nut bits”. Wouldn’t be cheaper for Cadbury to buy crushed remnants, would it?
I see this week they have a new use for all their old, returned stock. Melt it down and turn it into “buttons” and “clusters”.
And try to charge more for them.
Don’t worry, they don’t seem to be racing off the shelves either. Same shite recipe, same supposedly gullible purchasers.
I saw Woolworths have their Select brand out too and pushing Cadbury into a smaller area. At 32% cocoa there’s a good chance it’s going to have a better choc hit appeal. And the price is like C on special.
I see the non-special shelf price is now $4.29 in Qld for the smaller packs. Wasn’t it their PR department who said it was going to be smaller packs but keeping the price lower too? Like that as ever going to happen.
Cadbury have shot themselves in the foot. Ruined a once great and trusted brand and refused to bow to consumer pressure.
I will continue to buy Whittakers, Aldi and Greens organic over this muck.
We’ve seen Cadbury slide from #1 trusted brand to #2. Want to guess where they will be on next year’s list?
The consumer slide continues as more of general public realise they’ve been cheated…
August 8th, 2010 at 11:11 pm Will500(Quote)
WJB – I noticed a Cabdurys stand full of those clusters and buttons at a local supermarket. People kept walking past it.
As for the Woolies Select Chocolate, I tried it last week (both their Fruit & Nut and Plain Chocolate) and it was delicious. At 32% cocoa content, it is both impressive and well priced. Was on special the other week for $1.99, now at a normal price of $2.99. The only thing I don’t like about it is the cardboard wrapper and the 200 grams. This part reminds me of the way Cadbury has gone.
The best advice I would give Cadburys is to return to the 250 grams and the old wrappers. Whittakers have not bowed to carboard wrappers and their chocolate packaging still looks classy.
Do you know why Cadbury’s started using carboard packaging. The key reason was so they could try and disguise the reduction in size of the actual chocolate by using cardboard wrapper (Which is thicker than paper). The second is to try and compete with Lindt who have done the cardboard thing for ages. The third is so we consumers can store the chocolate more easily once it is open.
As a big chocaholic, I feel we are now so lucky with the other brands available. It wouldn’t matter if Cadburys closed down because there are better companys doing it right now.
I am really pleased that Woolies are trying to push Cadburys aside by introducing the wonderful Select brand of chocolate, and for offering the full range of Whittakers Chocolates.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for Coles, who seem to be Cadburys No.1 fan. You will not find Whittakers stocked at Coles.
August 9th, 2010 at 4:48 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Argh all this talk about chocolate.
Meanwhile I’m stuck here in Taiwan with Snickers bars and ridiculously overpriced imported Lindt.
I’m kinda curious what Cadbury Australia’s profit looked like over the past financial year. I don’t recall anyone appreciating the taste change and smaller blocks. Despite it being ‘Australian’s want‘.
August 11th, 2010 at 3:44 pm Tick(Quote)
Will500, the reason Whittakers is stocked at Woolies and not Coles is that Big W stocks Whitttakers, Big W is a part of Woolies. Coles is a different company.
The Coles brand chocolate is gorgeous, I’m eating some now. $2.50 for a 200g block regular price here, 200g, no stupid cardboard wrapper. Love it.
August 14th, 2010 at 8:05 pm Will500(Quote)
Tick – I have tried the Coles belgian brand, not bad (perhaps just a tad too much sugar).
That doesnt really make sense about Whittakers. WHittakers could still sell to Coles.
Guess what readers. Woolies once again has Cadbury’s buy two blocks for $5 this week. Do they ever quit this desperate attempt to reclaim the market? Making themselves look really cheap by constantly being on special.
August 15th, 2010 at 3:52 pm Markey mark(Quote)
I am a chocolate lover, my family and friends are always warning me about eating too much chocolate worried that I might get diabetes. I was a huge fan of Cadburys but their new chocolate recipe wont be responsible if I ever do get diabetes *laughs*.
I have tried both their new “Caramello Nibbles” which actually arent that bad (despite the low ammount of caramell) but on the other hand their “Chocolate Crunchie Clusters” are sickly sweet.
I was under the impression that Cadbury had taken the palm oil out of their products (tricked by their “Vegatable Oil”) the taste was okay but no where near as good as it used to be. Just last night I purchased a block of “Dairy Milk” and it made me sick, my mouth was so dry as in parched after eating it.
What really annoys me though is Cadbury placing a “fair trade” symbol on their chocolate, what because they havent been up untill now and are trying to milk it? (no pun intended).
Can I just mention they claim their reason for changing the size is because of the obesaty epidemic, so that makes every chocolate lover a fattie?? Honestly I am surprised that their arent any (known) law suits being taken out against this company.
However the fact remains that their new so-called “loved” chocolate taste is gross. I need to find a good alternative untill they wise up, it needs to be available at Safeway or Coles though… got any ideas?
P.S. On the off note “Star Burst Jelly Babies” made by the Wrrigley company are awesome, I went through two bags the other day!!
August 15th, 2010 at 7:55 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
People seem to like Whittakers but I had it once and wasn’t impressed.
Hands down for me the most readily available alternative was Aldi’s belgium chocolate offering.
August 15th, 2010 at 9:20 pm Will500(Quote)
Marky Mark – welcome aboard to this site! I couldnt agree with you more about Cadburys family Block chocolate. Despite claiming they have returned to the old recipe, and removed the vegetable fat (AKA Palm oil) the chocolate DEFINITELY does not taste the same as it did in the 70′s, 80′s, 90′s and up to just a few years ago.
Cadbury’s are lying. They are still putting in Palm Oil, I can taste it. Just the other day a friend bought some as it was on special (yet again). It tasted so bad, like it was GREASY. That’s right, GREASY. That is the vegetable fat doing that. Just because Cadburys say they have returned to the original recipe, doesn’t mean they have. They have proven themselves to be liars, and no-one I know is happy with the nw packaging either (designed to trick the eyes into thinking it is the same size).
May I recommend that while you are in the Confecitionary Isle, warn other consumers about Cadburys while you are looking. The more people who reject this product, the more likely they will shut down, or do the right thing.
In answer to your other question about what other chocolate to buy. Avoid Coles, they are big fans of Cadbury and stock a limited range of other brands. I recommend the new Woolworths Select brand, it has a higher cocoa content than scappy Cadburys. Cheap too. I also highly recommend Aldi’s european chocolate.
Who needs Cadburys now? None of us …
August 15th, 2010 at 10:03 pm Markey mark(Quote)
Will500 – My mum brought home a block of Cadbury chocolate today. I pointed out the “Vegetable Fat” in the ingredient list and my family has sworn off it. I hate what they are doing to those poor monkeys.
I was actually thinking of doing that the next time at Safeway. Instead i’ll just walk up to the the Cadbury section call a friend and start ranting on about how bad Cadbury tates now *laughs*.
While the packaging is terrible the smaller size was inevitable. However that dosent mean “Cadbury” will remain at the forefront, Soon enough a load of newer brands will bombard the chocolate shelves and steal all Cadburys market share with newer bigger Chocolate, Safeway has taken advantage of the profit to be made. There is consumer demand… As more consumers look for a cheaper alternative, Aldi and Costco will get bigger and bigger.
The thing that annoyed me the most was the fact that “Cadbury” has started printing a big bold “Fair Trade” logo on their box, because up untill now they werent fair trade? You really do have to wonder who “Cadbury” has employed to do its marketing… It annoyed me even more that they think they can milk it.
So instead of handing my money over to Cadbury i’ll shop around the confectionary isle. Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitly give both the Select range a try as well as the Aldi range. I have really gotten into “Snickers Pods” lately, you should give them a try they are really nice.
August 16th, 2010 at 7:51 am Will500(Quote)
Marky Mark – sounds like your Mum may have picked up old Cadbury stock which still shows the vegetable fat in the contents list on the back. I agree with you on the FAIR TRADE. It is a ploy by Cadburys to win consumers back.
Hope you do decide to call a friend when you are in the Supermarket. I chatted with two people the other day who were deciding what chocolate to buy. One of them said that her children had told her not to Cadburys anymore as the pieces were smaller and it tasted bad. The other person I chatted to was just about to pick up the Cadburys two for $5.00 but after I strongly recommended the Select Brand she opted for that instead.
Someone here was saying they didnt much like Whittakers. It is an excellent chocolate, although is an acquired taste. I can’t rave enough about the Aldi chocolate. Thanks for the Snickers tip. Do you know who makes Snickers? If it is coming from the Cadburys or Nestle factory, I won’t touch it.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:30 pm Markey mark(Quote)
I have noticed Cadbury is now almost always on special at 2 for $5.00 now they are obviously feeling the punch… YAY!!
I think most customers feel the same about Cadbury that it’s gross over priced crap, not only did they make it smaller and for the same ammount of money but they changed their recipe which wasnt a very smart idea. I have always been a big fan of Cadbury but it will give me the much needed break to try some other brands.
I used to love Cadbury Caramello Koalas as I used to bite off the head and then suck the caramell out from the inside but since the chocolate is now very thin, the whole chocolate breaks. Same goes for Cadbury Crunchies, I used to bite off the chocolate from the outside first and then leave the honey comb for last but once again the chocolate is so thin that it tends to break the honey comb.
It’s good that you turned them off it, I am sure that they would have regretted buying it.
I know that Snickers Pods are made by Mars and you should also try the Star Burst Jelly Babies. I am an all-round candy lover whether it’s Chocolate or lollies. I do not like Nestle because of some of the issues they have had in the past and wont buy any product with their name on it.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:47 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
@Will
@Markey Mark
August 16th, 2010 at 4:07 pm Markey mark(Quote)
Cadbury means quality. If this product does not meet your expectations or you have any enquiries, please call consumer services on 1800 250 260 (AUST) or 0800 223 2879 (NZ).
That is printed on the back of Cadbury chocolate blocks and I assume on all their other products. Instead of venting here I suggest we flood there call centers because we are all unhappy with the QUALITY of their chocolate and… CADBURY MEANS QUALITY… Apparently
We need to boycot everyone and stop putting up with multibillion dollar companies scamming their customers.
Ultimately its up to you but in my oppinion if you want to make the biggest change we should make Cadbury work for it.
DO NOT PURCHASE THE CLUSTERS THEY TASTE LIKE PURE SUGAR…
And I’m a chocoholic
Also I do agree that the Snickers Pods are expensive, but they are also incredibly awesome tasting!!
August 16th, 2010 at 11:36 pm Will500(Quote)
I have to agree with Ozsoapbox, Pods are too expensive for what you get. I am sure they are yummy.
I wouldnt recommend talking to just anybody in the supermarket. But when i am buying chocolate, and I can see another customer genuinely confused about what to pick, I step in and say something along the lines of “a shame what happened to cadburys bla bla bla, have you tried this delicious whittakers or new woolies select brand”.
Marky Mark – I think we all need to phone cadburys hotline BUT only if we want to return to their product. With so much on offer now by other companies, who needs them? I note your comment about Caramello koalas and how the chocolate coating is so thin now. Yet another example of Cadbury cutting corners and hoping you wont notice. My folks bought some fundraiser freddo frogs recently and they tasted disgusting. Full of vegetable fat, yet in the past Freddo Frog was genuinely a delicious treat. Even my father noticed the change in taste.
Did I mention what a huge mistake it was for Cadburys to change the size of their chocolate pieces. TElling consumers the flatter pieces are designed to spread more evenly in your mouth so you get more taste coverage. WHAT ROT!