Woman opens old Cadbury selection box and 1 thing stands out

Selection boxes remain a Christmas tradition throughout Britain – after all, what’s the festive period without receiving a collection of chocolate bars you’d never purchase yourself? One woman who’d kept a selection box from the 1990s was astounded when she finally opened it decades later.

‘Shrinkflation’ has become a genuine concern, with many Britons noticing their favourite chocolate bars have diminished in size over the years, while simultaneously becoming more expensive. It’s undeniably frustrating, yet consumers have little recourse – if you fancy a selection box, you’ll purchase one despite the unfairness of it all. The vintage Cadbury selection box she’d preserved was enormous, featuring charming artwork which was typically 90s, with Santa, elves, and Rudolph, all looking remarkably cheerful, decorating the packaging in vibrant, eye-catching colours.

Today’s Cadbury selection boxes feature a purple colour scheme with a contemporary Santa design, though the elves remain on the front alongside a sleigh.  Rachel Peacock exclaimed: “Look at the size of that,” while lifting the substantial selection box and removing the lid to unveil its contents.

“Look at the size of the chocolate bars though,” Rachel marvelled, checking the expiry date on the chocolate. Unfortunately, it had expired in July 1991.

The collection featured an enormous Picnic bar, and a Boost in its original orange wrapper rather than today’s blue. Rachel also held up a Fruit and Nut, describing it as a “proper chocolate bar” due to its substantially chunkier size compared to modern versions.

“A Double Decker, look, you can actually hold it,” she remarked, wrapping her hand around it to demonstrate it was almost too large to grasp – a stark contrast to today’s diminished offerings.

She repeated the exercise with a Wispa, expressing disbelief at how substantially larger they were over three decades ago compared to current versions. “Remember the old Caramel? Proper thick chocolate bar,” Rachel observed, lifting it up to show viewers its impressive former dimensions.

Another selection box revealed even more treasures. One thing was certain in the 90s – there was no shortage of sweet treats at Christmas!

Rachel also highlighted that “the chocolate bar fits the packaging.” Historically, wrappers were snugly fitted to the bar itself, while nowadays they’re considerably looser, creating the illusion of more chocolate than actually exists – quite disappointing really.

She even drew attention to the Five Centres chocolate bar, noting: “You don’t get them no more”. She then enquired: “Who remembers the blue people? The shoe people?”

In the comments section, one person reminisced: “I’m always talking about the massive selection boxes my nan got me every year, without fail, every year she would have one down the side of her armchair. I would take a little peek at the side of her chair as we walked in, knowing I was leaving with that bad boy!!”

Another suggested: “Should send it back to Cadbury to remind them what the size of their chocolate bars should still be like now…”

What is shrinkflation?

Shrinkflation refers to the practice whereby manufacturers reduce the size, weight, or quantity of a product while maintaining its price, or occasionally even raising it. This results in shoppers paying identical amounts for less, frequently without immediately detecting the alteration.

Shrinkflation enables businesses to manage escalating production expenses, including increased costs for raw materials or workforce, without explicitly raising prices, which could put off purchasers. This strategy is widespread across the food and consumer goods sectors, where packaging and product presentation can be subtly modified to mask the reduction in quantity.