Milkybars get milkier: Nestle changes recipe of chocolate bars

Nestle is reformulating the Milkybar to make milk the main ingredient in its latest effort to remove sugar from its products.

The percentage of milk in the new recipe has increased from 26 per cent to 37.5 per cent, which allowed for the removal of sugar, Nestle said.

The new products will remain free from artificial flavours, colours, preservatives and sweeteners.

Newly designed packs, with the line "Milk is now our No 1 ingredient", will appear across the full Milkybar range of bars, blocks, buttons and sharing bags and were to replace the existing products from May this year.

Nestle said the reformulation would remove almost 350 tonnes of sugar and 130 million calories from UK public consumption, part of its pledge to remove 10 per cent of sugar from across its total confectionery portfolio by next year.

It follows the recent launch of Nestle's reformulated KitKat "Extra Milk and Cocoa", which increased the percentage of milk by 20 per cent and cocoa by 13 per cent in the recipe.

Fiona Kendrick, chairwoman and chief executive of Nestle UK and Ireland, said: "We want to make our products the best they can be for our consumers. We'll take every opportunity to innovate and reformulate to improve our products but this can never be to the detriment of taste.

"We have used our strength in research and innovation to develop a great recipe that replaces some sugar with more of the existing, natural ingredient that people know and love. We have added more milk to the recipe, which has been at the heart of Milkybar ever since it was launched in 1936."

What do you think? Join the debate by leaving a comment below.