Cadbury Mini Eggs are an iconic Easter treat that have been delighting children and adults alike since they were introduced by the confectionery brand in 1967. Consisting of solid milk chocolate morcels encased in colourful speckled sugar shells, they've long been associated with spring time, with an iconic look, taste and smell.
Last month, the Mirror reported that Cadbury had hiked the price of a bag of Mini Eggs but 25 per cent, up to £1.25 from £1 last year. Other products in the Mini Egg range, like sharing bags and bars, have also been affected by inflation.
Mondelez International - who own Cadbury - told The Sun that the price rises came as a result of increased costs.
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A spokesperson said: “We are facing the same challenges that so many other food companies have already reported when it comes to significantly increased input costs – whether it’s food commodities, energy prices or packaging materials – and rising inflation. This means that our products are much more expensive to make.
"We understand that consumers are faced with rising costs too, which is why we look to absorb costs wherever we can, but, in this difficult environment, we’ve had to make the decision to increase the recommended retail price of Cadbury Mini Eggs 80g.
"Whilst we are making this change to the recommended retail price, retailers are free to set their own prices in their shops.”
So, with the price increase on the popular Easter chocolate, is it worth looking to some of the supermarket alternatives to save a bit of extra cash amid the cost of living crisis?
Manchester Evening News picked up packs of similar chocolate eggs from M&S, Aldi and Morrisons - having failed to find any in Tesco and Sainsbury's - to see if any of the cheaper 'dupes' live up to the much loved choc. And here's what we found:
Price and pack size
Shoppers are more and more carefully scrutinising the prices of products that they place in their baskets, and when it comes to events like Easter, it’s important to know you’re getting the most for your money.
A standard bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs weighs in at 80g, and costs £1.25 with approximately 25 chocolates inside the pack.
By comparison, Morrisons 80g pack costs £1, with around 23 eggs inside, meaning each one must be slightly heavier than the originals. But at Aldi, their 99p pack weighs 80g and had around 25 eggs inside.
However, over at M&S, their speckled chocolate eggs cost the same price as Cadbury’s at £1.25, but had an extra 10g of chocolate inside - but also 10 fewer actual eggs.
Appearance
Looking at these chocolate eggs in a line up, it’s evident that M&S’s own version of a speckled egg is much larger than the rest, hence the heavier weight with fewer chocolates. They come in three colours - pink, green and yellow - and have a lovely, glossy appearance complete with chocolate flecks.
Cadbury Mini Eggs, on the other hand, come in four shades - white, yellow, pink and lilac - a lovely spring colour palette. They have a slightly powdered appearance and an iconic scent, which the supermarket alternatives sadly failed to replicate, meaning children with the noses of a bloodhound may notice a switcheroo.
The Morrisons eggs come in blue, pink, white and yellow, and are fractionally smaller than Mini Eggs. They’re slightly powdered but upon contact with skin, this soon melts and becomes a bit sticky, so they’re ones you’ll want to eat quite quickly.
Finally, Aldi’s eggs only come in two colours - purple and yellow - so slightly disappointing since their packaging was most akin to Cadbury. Their shapes weren’t as uniformed as some of the other brands, and their colour actually looked a bit ‘muddy’ at times, rather than pastel or vibrant, which was a real shame.
Taste
Cadbury’s chocolate is probably one of the most globally recognisable chocolate brands, and I’m certain that in a blind taste test, I’d be able to pick out a Cadbury Mini Egg immediately.
I don’t think any of the supermarket alternatives tasted near to the branded version, but that’s not to say they weren’t tasty in their own right. Aldi, as the most inexpensive of the bunch, had that ‘cheap chocolate’ flavour, which is one that many people really enjoy, but it’s not my favourite.
Morrisons’ version didn’t have a particularly strong flavour, but were very creamy, with a crunchy sugar shell, while M&S had a very different chocolate to shell ratio compared to the rest, heavier on the chocolate side.
Verdict
In terms of appearance, Morrisons’ chocolate eggs looked the most similar to Cadbury’s, with a Spring colourway, powdered shell and similar size, but they lacked in flavour and didn’t have that same distinct smell as Mini Eggs, however, they probably are the closest dupe, and 25p cheaper than Cadbury’s.
M&S’s chocolate eggs - although the least alike to Cadbury’s - were my favourite in terms of flavour, and they looked very pretty too. Shiny, glossy and bright, they definitely had the ‘wow’ factor, but I don’t think you’d be able to call them a dupe - least not because they’re the exact same price as Cadbury (but do weigh more per pack).
Aldi really rather disappointed me with their lacklustre chocolate eggs with just two colours, inconsistent shapes and dull appearance.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference, and mine is that Cadbury Mini Eggs really are inimitable, and are a real part of British culture at Spring time, and therefore, are the ultimate Easter treat.
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