Are we being ripped off?

It seems to happen every year now, that chocolate manufacturers start messing with our favourite confectionery, whether it’s size, recipe or packaging.

Last month we found out our ever shrinking tin of Christmas Quality Street will no longer contain the Toffee Delux, in 2014 Cadbury decided to stop making chocolate coins for Christmas,  and now it’s the turn of the Terry’s Chocolate Orange which has shrunk from 175g to 157g – making it 10% smaller than it was last year.

But what’s really prompting outrage is news that despite the shrinkage, most supermarkets are still selling the smaller Terry’s Chocolate Oranges for the same price they were before.

The treat, first manufactured in York in 1932 is now produced by the American owners of Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Mondelez, who have moved the production of the product to Poland, say rising ingredient costs is the main reason they have reduced the size.

Cadbury, which was bought by Mondelez in 2010, has also been critisised for reducing the number of Creme Eggs and Curly Wurlys in its multi-packs while keeping the price the same.

What are your views?  What other products have you noticed shrinking before your eyes? Does size matter? Are consumers being ripped off or are manufacturers doing us a favour by giving us less calories to consume?