WHY do we have to dig around to try to find our favourites in tubs of chocolates?
One conspiracy theory says makers use more of the heaviest so they can make up the weight while leaving out others.
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Another says they cut back on those with pricier ingredients, such as nuts.
Or is it just a sinister plot to make us buy more tubs to get the flavours we like?
We bought four of the best-loved tubs and counted the flavours inside to see what is going on.
Yesterday we told how Quality Street fans were missing out on their favourite choices due to factory problems caused by Covid. The company says the issue has now been sorted in time for Christmas.
And today we can reveal the complicated formula behind what goes in its tubs. Though sadly, yes, there really are fewer of the nation’s favourites.
Quality Street splits chocs into three types — fruit cremes, caramel/fudge and chocolate — with each category roughly making one third of the total.
But some categories have as many as seven flavours in them and others just two.
Purple Ones were rated one of the nation’s favourite Quality Street flavours in a survey by Consumer group Which?. But they fall into the busy caramel/fudge group alongside Caramel Swirl, Fudge, Toffee Penny, Coconut Eclair, Toffee Deluxe and Toffee Finger.
As a result there are typically fewer of them in a tub. On the other hand, there are more Strawberry Delights, as they are in the fruit cream band with just Orange Creme. Tubs still vary greatly though.
When it comes to the festive season, Quality Street is one of the Big Four choc choices, alongside Roses, Celebrations and Heroes.
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Mars, which makes Celebrations, and Cadbury’s, which makes Heroes, say which chocs you get is random.
Each year we buy tens of millions of boxes of the Big Four. We spend £94million a year on Celebrations alone — and £86million more on Quality Street and £55million on Roses.
If nothing else, our in-depth study will stop you blaming the kids for scoffing all the best ones.
New Cadbury Roses tin created by British homeware designer Emma Bridgewater
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