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The Swiss-based food maker said the new range would cater to
consumers who don't like nuts, yet the launch comes as sharply
rising walnut prices join a list of increasing raw material
costs forcing manufacturers into a range of economy measures.
The traditional Walnut Whip is comprised of a whirl-shaped
chocolate cone, filled with fondant and topped with a walnut.
But this is lacking in the new vanilla, caramel and mint
flavored versions.
A Nestle spokeswoman stressed that the original walnut-topped
Whip - one of which is eaten every two seconds in Britain -
would still be available to UK consumers.
Yet the new range is likely to be met with some scepticism as
British consumers have seen some of their most popular chocolate
snacks scaled back in size in response to surging ingredient
prices.
In November 2016, chocolate lovers erupted into social media
fury after manufacturer Mondelez <MDLZ.O> reduced the weight of
a version of Toblerone bars to 150 grams from 170 grams by
spacing out its triangular chocolate peaks more widely.
Other examples of so-called shrinkflation affecting the
confectionary industry include Mars reducing the sizes of
Maltesers, M&Ms and Minstrels packets by up to 15 percent.
"They've taken the walnut off the top of the walnut whip so now
it's just a whip and I don't know who we are any more," Twitter
user Debora Robertson posted in reaction to Monday's
announcement.
The falling value of the pound and a poor crop last year in
Chile, one of the world’s major producers, pushed up UK walnut
prices by around 20 percent this year, according to Helen
Graham, an importer quoted by the Guardian newspaper.
(Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by David Holmes)
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