Cadbury Faces $9 Million Sales Slump After Changing Creme Egg Formula

A year after Cadbury changed the recipe for its beloved Creme Eggsreplacing Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate with cheaper cocoa mix, plus changing the standard six-egg order to five — the U.K. chocolate maker is facing the financial repercussions of its decision to ruin England's collective Easter. Americans, unfortunately, have been getting a powdered milk version for years.

According market research firm IRI, Cadbury is facing a £6 million (approximately $8.7 million USD) slump in sales of the once popular Creme Egg, as chocolate lovers find the disappointment at the heart of the Egg. Total sales of all Cadbury-branded Easter eggs fell £10 million (approximately $14.5 million).

So far, Cadbury has not acknowledged the link between the unpopular formula change and its poor chocolate sales over the last year, with one representative telling trade magazine The Grocer that "the fundamentals of Cadbury Creme Egg remain exactly the same."

This Easter, Cadbury's claims will be put to the test when Mars introduces Galaxy Golden Eggs, and Ferraro releases a version of the Kinder Joy egg with chocolate in one side of the egg and a toy in the other.