Cadbury set for major product relaunch in Australia
Cadbury is embarking on a relaunch of their core chocolate products in Australia, which has seen them clearing trade inventories in the first quarter of the year.
The UK-based maker of Dairy Milk and Old Gold chocolate will be relaunching their products throughout the second quarter of the year (April-June) with new packaging a hallmark of the changes.
Cadbury, which sold Schweppes Australia to Asahi earlier this year, has redesigned their iconic block chocolate products to make them resealable and to utilise more recyclable materials. The chocolate itself is not changing but the way it is presented will, with a change of block shape to ensure it can be broken without crumbs. They will also change the production of their nut varieties to ensure distribution of nuts throughout the block is more even.
The confectioner is planning to spend over $13 million on a wide range of media advertising over coming months, with point of sale promotions and ads to focus on their new “Eyebrows” communication – which has proven a successful follow up to their “Gorilla” campaign.
Cadbury reported robust results overnight as their Australian business “grew well despite reducing inventories as part of preparations for a major product relaunch”.
I am bitterly dissapointed with the relaunch of the family block chocolate especially the nut variety. The new package and thinner block with nut pieces rather than whole nuts does not have the same flavour as before and I will no longer be purchasing them. I have bought cadbury hazelnut chocolates for years plus other varieties for the kids and now have to find an alternative. Being a chocaholic I find it hard to understand why the company has opted for this change when the old style was so yummmmmmmy. Sorry guys I will have to go elsewhere.
So much for ‘not changing the chocolate itself’ – the introduction of vegetable fat (trans-fat by another name) which coincided with the packaging changes cannot be a coincidence.
I really love the new Cadbury ‘eyebrows’ advertisement, but it’s all for nothing given my disappointment with the new block packaging and shape of the chocolate itself. The shape has given me flashbacks to having to take Laxettes during childhood – simply revolting. And, for some reason, it also seems like the texture has changed for the worse, but perhaps this is because I’m completely unenamoured with all of the changes. As for the increase in cost (smaller blocks being sold at the same price), I could begrudgingly accept paying more for my beloved Cadbury chocolate if I saw value in the new product but I’m not interested in new fangled packaging… I liked the family friendly, unpretentious paper wrapping much more. I don’t want Lindt-like cardboard casing. Apparently a Cadbury spokesperson has said that they don’t set the price that retailers charge consumers… but Cadbury is selling their new product to retailers at the same price as the old, so it stands to reason that retailers will wish to maintain their previous profit margin. I am told there is more opposition expressed to the product changes on the Crikey website and some rubbish explanation from a Cadbury spokesperson to try to justify them. I just hope that the Gruen transfer takes up this issue and Cadbury reinstates the price, packaging and chocolate shape. I’m already resorting to eating chocolate Freddos, rather than chocolate blocks, because I simply can’t stand the new chocolate shape.
It tastes bad, and the thin, Lindt-wannabee pieces are nothing like the old experience of biting into a fat piece of Cadbury’s chocolate. It’s not like I needed an excuse to cut chocolate out of my diet – but Cadbury’s has given me one. They have lost a life-long, entirely brand loyal customer with this move. And I suspect that they will continue to lose customers in droves.