A UK store has left shoppers confused after it began promoting a range of Easter sweet treats – weeks before Christmas Day.
This time of year, shoppers usually make a beeline for the mince pies, cream liqueur, and tubs of Roses that line the shelves at grocery stores across the country.
Preparations for Easter don’t start until much later but that doesn’t seem to have stopped bugdet shop B&M from advertising Cadbury’s Mini eggs months before the festival is celebrated in April.
Bags of Cadbury‘s Mini eggs were put on display at B&M on December 10 – but it didn’t take long for chocolate lovers to note that ‘we still have Xmas, New Years and Valentines’ to go before Easter.
Instagram page UKnewestfood announced the availability of the product on social media, sharing a snap of the huge one kg-bag of chocolate and declaring the advent of ‘Eastermas’.
‘Mini Eggs 1kg bags are back!! Merry Eastermas. Out now for £14 at B&M,’ they added.
When images of Easter treats started to appear elsewhere online, chocolate lovers didn’t hesitate to share their views on the early arrival.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one person posted a picture of a set of supermarket shelves stocked with Easter treats ranging from Mini eggs products to Creme eggs and Milky Bar and Smarties hollow chocolate eggs with the caption: ‘He’s not even been born yet’.
Bags of Cadbury ‘s Mini eggs were put on display at budget store B&M on December 10
Christian tradition states that Jesus was born on December 25, crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.
Another social media user joked: ‘I suppose this is what they call a spoiler alert’.
While a third despaired: ‘Oh that’s ridiculous’.
A fourth person appeared to be in shock, commenting: ‘Can’t be real?’
Others were, however, delighted that Easter chocolate had gone on sale early, with one person posting a picture of Mini eggs and other chocolatey treats, with the caption: ‘They new I was coming over for Xmas and need to stock up before.’
A sixth person chimed in: ‘NO ONE should EVER make any even SLIGHTLY negative comment about the appearance of Cadbury Mini eggs’.
Someone else joked: ‘Read your bible. The wise men brought gold, Cadbury creme, and myrrh’.
Another user added: ‘The Cadbury Mini egg chocolate bar is SOOOOO GOOD though I’m going to allow this violation of the Holiday Temporal Prime Directive to slide… just this once.’
Fans of Mini eggs, however, weren’t just concerned with their early appearance on the shop floor – they were also struck by how expensive the B&M bag of the sugar-coated chocolates were.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter ), one person posted a picture of a set of supermarket shelves stocked with Easter treats ranging from Mini eggs products to Creme eggs and Milky Bar and Smarties hollow chocolate eggs with the caption: ‘He’s not even been born yet’
Fans of the sugar coated candies have gone wild after one shopper spotted a huge bag of the Easter treats in a B&M store – but many are less pleased by the £14 price tag
Several people criticised the ‘outrageous’ price point of the confectionery items that were selling for £14 a bag.
One person wrote: ‘I need these in my life. Couldn’t get the big bag last Easter.’
Yet, another stated: ‘£14 is wild’.
A third wrote: ‘For £14 I want an actual chicken laying mini eggs, this is outrageous.’
This isn’t the first time Cadbury’s fans have been upset by the price point of their favourite snacks.
Earlier this year, shoppers were left outraged after the brand admitted that they had changed the price of the famed eggs.
Replying to a fuming customer on X, formerly Twitter, the brand admitted it is ‘having to make some carefully considered price increases across our range’, telling shoppers the decision was ‘a last resort.’
The price of the Mini Eggs Chocolate Bag (80g) has increased by 25 per cent in major retailers, such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, from £1 to £1.25.
People on X (formerly Twitter) shared their views on the early arrival of Mini eggs
Meanwhile, the cost of the Mini Eggs Bar (110g) has also surged in Morrisons and Tesco by 25 per cent from £1 to £1.25.
In Sainsbury’s and Tesco, the Mini Eggs Carton (38.3g) is now 20 per cent more expensive, with the price rising from 50p to 60p, according to recent figures.
The price hike of the popular Easter products has left scores of shoppers fuming – with one fan in particular capturing the apparent mood with a post on X.
Rowena Coxwell wrote on 19 January: ‘Having to take out a loan to buy a bag of Mini Eggs wtf are these prices.’
Cadbury responded directly to the post with the comment: ‘Hi Rowena, making changes to the price of our products is always a last resort, however, costs across our supply chain have risen steeply.
‘Core ingredients we heavily rely on, like cocoa and sugar are a lot more expensive, while the cost of energy, packaging, and transport also remain high.
‘As a result, we are having to make some carefully considered price increases across our range so we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love without compromising on taste or quality.’
Other fans also shared their frustration over the price increase on X, with one writing: ‘The price of Mini Eggs now a days is actually disgusting… but they’re so good we all just pay it anyway.’
Many were delighted by the early arrival, keen to get their hands on the chocolate. One wrote: ‘I need these in my life. Couldn’t get the big bag last Easter’
Another said: ‘I really want some Mini Eggs but the price of getting a tiny bag is just silly so then it just annoys me.’
A spokesperson for Mondelēz International, which owns Cadbury, told MailOnline: ‘We understand the economic pressures that consumers continue to face and raising prices is a last resort for our business.
‘As a food producer, we are continuing to experience significantly higher input costs across our supply chain, with ingredients such as cocoa and sugar, which are widely used in our products, costing far more than they have done previously.
‘Meanwhile, other costs like energy, packaging, and transport also remain high. This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges.
‘As a result, we are having to make some carefully considered price increases for our Mini Egg products so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect.’
It comes after Cadbury was blasted by shoppers in February last year for reducing the size of various Mini Eggs products.
The chocolate giant cut the sizes of medium and large Easter eggs in what was dubbed as an example of ‘shrinkflation.’
The chocolatier’s Mini Eggs egg was 97g, down from 130g, while still at the price of £1.25.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .