Reduced production capacity in factories in response to the Covid lockdown has been blamed for consumers missing some of their favourite Quality Street flavours.
Consumers took to social media to share that certain flavours – including new addition the Chocolate Caramel Brownie – were missing from tubs. Others reported that fan favourite 'the Purple One' was also in short supply.
One customer, Matthew Tindale, tweeted: “I've just emptied a box on the table for the kids to choose what they'd like. Where are the Chocolate Caramel Brownies?! My eight-year-old son is devastated. Explain yourselves.”
A Nestlé spokesperson said the factory in Halifax, West Yorkshire, had made some temporary changes to operations during the lockdown period to keep production going.
They said: “We made some temporary changes to the way we operated, such as running fewer lines for a time. As a result, some consumers may find that they do not have all 12 varieties of Quality Street sweets in their mix.
“There is no change to the overall weight of our tubs, tins and cartons and any missing varieties, such as the Chocolate Caramel Brownie, have been replaced by another of our well-loved Quality Street selection.
“We have been producing all 12 sweets again for some time now. We apologise for any disappointment caused but hope consumers understand why it was necessary to make these changes during such unprecedented conditions.”
Last year Quality Street reduced the weight of its tins to 650g, compared to 720g in 2018, in a phenomenon known as ‘shrinkflation’.
The Office for National Statistics found 206 products in all categories had shrunk in size between 2015 and 2017, with bread and cereals among the most affected items.
Nestlé also invested in seven new machines to carry out Quality Street’s iconic twist wrapping. The machines are twice as fast as previous processes, wrapping up to 750 chocolates a minute.
☛ Want to stay up to date with the news? Sign up to our daily bulletin.