£6m loss of new recipe Cadbury Creme Egg

The maker of Cadbury Creme Eggs has defended the controversial change of recipe after losing millions in sales last year.

Research by analysts IRI for trade magazine The Grocer found that, in total, the best-selling brand’s Easter lines lost more than £10m (€13m) in sales in 2015.

The report says that the Creme Egg was the biggest loser after US owner Mondelez changed the recipe so that the shell is made from standard, traditional Cadbury milk chocolate instead of Cadbury Dairy Milk.

A spokeswoman for Cadbury said that industry recognised data from Nielsen, which showed a loss for 2015 of £7m overall, not £10m.

US giant Kraft Foods bought Cadbury in 2010 and its global snacks business under the name of Mondelez International.

The now familiar Cadbury Creme Egg first hit the shelves in 1971.

The IRI study said filled and shell Creme Eggs lost more than £6m after the recipe change. However, Mondelez has insisted that the recipe remains exactly the same as the 1971 original.

The company said: “The Easter season changes every year depending on when Easter falls. It was two weeks shorter in 2015 than 2014 so it’s hard to compare like for like.

"This is why most of the big chocolate brands show a fall in revenue for 2015 against 2014.”