Why are chocolates like Rolo, Mars and Twix less popular now?

Posted by EquivalentScared5756@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 32 comments

Back in the days these used to be super popular and feature in every shop at the forefront. Another amazing item of food is the iced gems. I used to love those but can hardly find them now.

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Sad-Illustrator-7359@reddit

Rolos especially have deteriorated in taste and size

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StuChenko@reddit

Yeah it's one of the worst things they've done as a company

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GlitchingGecko@reddit

There's more variety, they're more expensive, and taste crappier.

You can find iced gems in most major supermarkets though. I have a multipack of them in the cupboard right now. They're in the biscuit section with other 'lunchbox' type items.

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Beartato4772@reddit

At this point I'd beg any fucker to take my last Rolo just so I didn't have to eat it.

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LiorahLights@reddit

I got Choc Gems a few weeks ago. They looked like tiny poos on a tiny biscuit.

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Tango91@reddit

They taste worse, got smaller and more expensive?

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EquivalentScared5756@reddit (OP)

Isn't that with everything though?

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Beartato4772@reddit

And I'm buying less of most things you'd call treats because of it yes.

Which is the aim of course to squeeze the last joy out of everyone's lives I mean "Make people healthier".

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n0p_sled@reddit

Possibly, but you asked about chocolates like Rolo, Mars and Twix

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simundo86@reddit

There great the eating cadburys now it’s disgusting

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knight-under-stars@reddit

Rolos are surprisingly cheap, 4 rolls for about a quid in Tesco.

That's far better value than bags of chocolate such as Buttons or Revels.

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HellPigeon1912@reddit

I may be making this up because I'm only half-remembering it, but I believe laws were put in place to prevent chocolate bars like that being sold at the checkouts.

I'm old enough that I definitely remember the days as a child when you'd be queueing up in a canyon of chocolate waiting for mum to buy the shopping. And probably being the little shit who passed that time by demanding a Mars bar.

I have vague memories of a law being pushed for to restrict where the chocolate could be sold, as part of the general push against sugar and marketing junk food to children. Whether it actually went to law, or maybe just supermarkets played ball for goodwill, something must have changed as the big supermarkets now have nothing sweeter than chewing gum and the odd fruit and nut bar at the tills

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bronze_kanga_roo@reddit

This is definitely part of it- supermarkets can’t have any products considered as high in fat, salt or sugar near the front door of the stores or at checkouts anymore-all you will see at tills are chewing gum or ‘healthy’ snacks that meet the HFSS criteria. They also rarely put special offers on items like chocolate or crisps (or if they do it is 20p off rather than half price). This is all to fit with governmental guidance that is trying to cut obesity and it’s negative effects on health/the pressure that being overweight puts on the NHS so are trying to advertise treats less or make them undesirable through high pricing.

I think there is also a quality issue with chocolate snacks now as the big companies have all changed their recipes to appear more ethical or better for the environment, but this has compromised the taste of the treats and they just don’t taste as good anymore!

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StuChenko@reddit

I remember this. But Tesco now has a long row of sweets along the queueing path for the self service tills. Perhaps it's some sort of loophole as it stops just before the tills.

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EquivalentScared5756@reddit (OP)

Yesss this might be it

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Hoodsfi68@reddit

Palm Oil tastes awful and leaves a crappy film in your mouth.

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EnglandsGlorious@reddit

I believe rolos lost their lustre, so to speak, with the public after the Michael Barrymore scandal, where he was caught stuff the entirety of 6 packs of rolos up the back passages of a couple of builders from Stepney in the toilets of the local bar. And before the woke mob start in on me, I know it was 5 packs of rolos and 1 pack of munchies. Get it up yeeeeee.

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UniqueEnigma121@reddit

Because they taste like shit now🤢

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SebastianHaff17@reddit

I think a big part is that there used to be flagship brands that manufacturers invested in. Some of these had big marketing campaigns back in the day.

Helps you work, rest and play. Do you love someone though to give them your last rolo?

Now the margins are lower and the market is more saturated. Any store can make chocolate at scale on the cheap.

There's just not the brand investment now. The focus is on promotion, i.e. price discounts on store as they have the scale to offer them.

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Norman-Wisdom@reddit

Cadbury did a really clever thing a while back where they went from individual branding on all their products to making them all mostly purple with a hint of individual branding colour on the different products. So now when you look at the chocolate shelf you see a wall of purple and it feels like Cadbury is the main choice.

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screwfusdufusrufus@reddit

Because people kept sweets in their pockets in case of hunger. Now there’s far more calorific choices every 100 metres.

Cafes and food ready to eat was far more rare when sweets ruled

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I need some now, and need to stuff multiple in my mouth.

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EquivalentScared5756@reddit (OP)

I'm just a legend like that

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