Guides / Christmas chocolate
Christmas chocolate shrinkflation: are the tubs smaller?
By ShrinkRadar · Updated 2026-10-18 · Every figure comes from a sourced case
Yes, the Christmas tubs are smaller again. For Christmas 2026, Cadbury Roses and Cadbury Heroes tubs went from 550 g to 475 g (−13.6%) while the pre-promotion price at Tesco and Morrisons stayed £7, which is 15.8% more per kilo (The Grocer, Assosia data). Celebrations tubs are now 500 g, down from 550 g in 2024 and 600 g before that. Quality Street kept its 550 g tub this year, after cuts from 650 g (2022) and 600 g (2023). Altogether we have 27 documented cuts to Christmas tubs, selection boxes and festive chocolate in the UK, Australia, Germany and New Zealand. The median pack lost 9.6%, a 10.6% hidden price rise per gram at the same price.
Biggest: Schär Lebkuchen, 200 g → 145 g.
Tub trackerSelection boxes & giftsAustralia & NZGermanyFAQ
UK Christmas tub tracker
Each step is a documented case. Sizes are the standard supermarket tub.
| Tub | Documented sizes | Total cut |
|---|---|---|
| Heroes 2026 case | 550 g → 475 g (2026) | −13.6% |
| Roses 2026 case | 550 g → 475 g (2026) | −13.6% |
| Celebrations 2024 case · 2025 case | 600 g → 550 g (2024) → 500 g (2025) | −16.7% |
| Quality Street 2022 case · 2023 case | 650 g → 600 g (2022) → 550 g (2023) | −15.4% |
Christmas 2026: Quality Street stayed at 550 g across the major supermarkets, while Celebrations’ 550 g tub disappeared in favour of the 500 g one (The Grocer, 26 Aug 2026, Assosia data). Current tub weights: Quality Street 550 g, Celebrations 500 g, Heroes 475 g, Roses 475 g.
Selection boxes, tins and gifts (UK)
| Product | Size | Cut | Price · real change per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Street Purple One (per sweet) Quality Street · 🇬🇧 UK · 2025 | 9.59 g → 8.46 g | −11.8% | — |
| Terry's Chocolate Orange (2025) Terry's · 🇬🇧 UK · 2025 | 157 g → 145 g | −7.6% | — |
| Quality Street Orange Crunch (per sweet) Quality Street · 🇬🇧 UK · 2025 | 9.06 g → 8.72 g | −3.8% | — |
| Cadbury medium Santa selection box Cadbury · 🇬🇧 UK · 2024 | 145 g → 125 g | −13.8% | — |
| Cadbury Buttons selection box Cadbury · 🇬🇧 UK · 2024 | 375 g → 340 g | −9.3% | — |
| Terry's Chocolate Orange Ball Toffee Crunch Terry's · 🇬🇧 UK · 2023 | 152 g → 145 g | −4.6% | — |
| Terry's Chocolate Orange (UK) Terry's · 🇬🇧 UK · 2016 | 175 g → 157 g | −10.3% | — |
Boxes of chocolates in Australia and New Zealand
The Christmas boxes shrank in the southern hemisphere too. The Australian’s 2021 and 2026 shelf readings come with prices.
| Product | Size | Cut | Price · real change per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadbury Roses chocolates box (Australia) Cadbury · 🇦🇺 AU · 2026 | 450 g → 380 g | −15.6% | A$16.00 → A$20.00 +48.0% |
| Maltesers box of chocolates (Australia) Maltesers · 🇦🇺 AU · 2026 | 400 g → 360 g | −10.0% | A$12.00 → A$15.50 +43.5% |
| Cadbury Favourites box, large (New Zealand, 2025) Cadbury · 🇳🇿 NZ · 2025 | 520 g → 470 g | −9.6% | — |
| Cadbury Roses chocolates box (New Zealand) Cadbury · 🇳🇿 NZ · 2025 | 420 g → 380 g | −9.5% | — |
| Aldi Kringle & Co iced Christmas cake Aldi · 🇦🇺 AU · 2024 | 100 g → 90 g | −10.0% | — |
| Lindt Champagne Gala Box Lindt · 🇦🇺 AU · 2024 | 433 g → 396 g | −8.5% | — |
| Lindt Christmas Medley Bag Lindt · 🇦🇺 AU · 2024 | 414 g → 390 g | −5.8% | — |
| Cadbury Favourites box, 373g (New Zealand) Cadbury · 🇳🇿 NZ · 2023 | 373 g → 340 g | −8.8% | — |
| Cadbury Favourites box, large (New Zealand) Cadbury · 🇳🇿 NZ · 2023 | 570 g → 520 g | −8.8% | — |
German Christmas chocolate and Lebkuchen
From the Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg list, which records the price before and after.
| Product | Size | Cut | Price · real change per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebkuchen Schmidt Festtags-Dose Lebkuchen-Schmidt · 🇩🇪 DE · 2025 | 300 g → 250 g | −16.7% | 10,40 € → 10,40 € +20.0% |
| Lebkuchen Schär · 🇩🇪 DE · 2023 | 200 g → 145 g | −27.5% | 3,99 € → 3,99 € +37.9% |
| Milka Weihnachtsmann 90 g Milka · 🇩🇪 DE · 2020 | 100 g → 90 g | −10.0% | 1,79 € → 1,99 € +23.5% |
| Milka Weihnachtsmann 45 g Milka · 🇩🇪 DE · 2020 | 50 g → 45 g | −10.0% | 0,99 € → 1,19 € +33.6% |
| Ferrero Rocher Sternschnuppe Ferrero · 🇩🇪 DE · 2019 | 50 g → 45 g | −10.0% | 1,99 € → 1,99 € +11.1% |
Brand records
- Cadbury 21
- Aldi 12
- Milka 8
- Quality Street 4
- Celebrations 3
- Lindt 3
- Terry's 3
- Maltesers 2
- Ferrero 1
- Lebkuchen-Schmidt 1
- Schär 1
How to get the most chocolate for your money
- Compare price per kilo, not the tub price. Supermarkets rotate tub promotions all autumn, so the cheapest tub per kilo changes from week to week.
- Check the weight on the lid. Tubs keep the same shape and look when the weight drops.
- Selection boxes: compare the total grams, not the number of bars.
- Run any two packs through the shrinkflation calculator.
Halloween bags are shrinking too: Halloween candy shrinkflation. All candy cases: Chocolate & Candy. Country pages: UK · Australia · New Zealand. More: best-known examples · statistics.
FAQ
Are Christmas chocolate tubs smaller this year?
Yes. For Christmas 2026, Cadbury Roses and Cadbury Heroes tubs went from 550 g to 475 g (−13.6%) while the pre-promotion price at Tesco and Morrisons stayed £7, which is 15.8% more per kilo (The Grocer, Assosia data). Celebrations tubs are now 500 g, down from 550 g in 2024 and 600 g before that. Quality Street kept its 550 g tub this year, after cuts from 650 g (2022) and 600 g (2023).
Which Christmas tub is the biggest now?
On weight, Quality Street at 550 g, then Celebrations at 500 g, then Roses and Heroes at 475 g each (thinkmoney, Christmas 2026 tub comparison). Promotions change the price per kilo every week, so check the unit price on the shelf tag before you buy.
How much smaller is a tub of Quality Street than it used to be?
Our sources show the standard UK tub at 650 g until 2022, 600 g in 2022 and 550 g from 2023 (Which?). In 2025 Nestlé also made The Purple One lighter (9.59 g → 8.46 g unwrapped) and the Orange Crunch (9.06 g → 8.72 g), according to The Guardian.
Why are Christmas chocolates shrinking?
Makers blame cocoa and other costs. Mondelēz told The Grocer it had absorbed costs where it could and had “to make the decision to reduce the weight of our Cadbury Heroes and Roses”. The Grocer also noted that cocoa futures were 19% lower than a year earlier when the 2026 tubs shrank.
Is it only the UK?
No. Our library also has Christmas chocolate cuts in Australia, Germany and New Zealand: for example Cadbury Roses chocolates box (Australia) 450 g → 380 g; Maltesers box of chocolates (Australia) 400 g → 360 g; Cadbury Favourites box, large (New Zealand, 2025) 520 g → 470 g.
Where does this data come from?
From en.wikipedia.org, which.co.uk, choice.com.au, theguardian.com, theaustralian.com.au, consumer.org.nz, watch.kepie.co.nz, nzherald.co.nz. Each case page quotes and links its source.