Cadbury fans slam new-look Freddo and say 'we used to be a real country'

Cadbury Freddo bars are under fire after shoppers said there was "another British icon lost" amid a shake-up. Chocolate fans slammed the new look of Cadbury's Freddo bars as a viral before-and-after picture of the iconic chocolate frog was shared widely.

A parody account called "Manic Kieth Preachers" posted a before-and-after picture of what looked to be a chocolate Freddo frog from Cadbury on X. The image of today's Freddo showed a noticeably slimmer frame on the iconic frog character.

In reply, a Twitter user sniped: "We used to be a real country." A second wrote: "Liposuction strikes again." A third replied: "What has happened to this country." Freddos actually grew from 17g to 20g in 2007, but shrank back down to 18g four years later.

READ MORE DWP 'bootcamps' for Universal Credit 'desperate' and 'won't work'

Mondelez, the parent company, attributed this to surging production costs in 2022. At the time, a Mondelez spokesperson said: "We're facing the same challenges that so many other food companies have already reported when it comes to significantly increased production costs - whether it's ingredients, energy or packaging - and rising inflation."

Freddo was originally manufactured by the now defunct company MacRobertson's, an Australian confectionery company, but is now produced by Cadbury. Some of the more popular flavours include strawberry and peppermint while the more controversial flavours like fruit and nut have struggled over the years.

"We call it 'Cadbury' in Aus as well. I noticed you guys put an S on the end. We're off the rails," another said. "Reminds me of Yowie’s! They were like Kinder Eggs and had little animals inside each one! I had almost all of them and I got all the plush toys, keyrings etc," another wrote.

And another said: "When I lived in Australia about 20 years ago they used to have ads on the TV encouraging people to kill cane toads by stepping on them or driving over them. Yes, I know toads and frogs aren't the same thing but I just thought I'd share a memory."