Mondelez axes better-for-you Fruitier and Nuttier Cadbury range

Cadbury brand owner Mondelez International is axing a better-for-you dairy chocolate bar and snacking range in the UK, Just Food reports.

The low-sugar Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier and Nuttier Trail Mix, featuring a selection of chocolate buttons, fruit and nuts, was launched in 2023 and marketed as low in saturated fats, portion-controlled and with 127 calories.

Chocolate bars under the same branding followed in 2024.

While Mondelez confirmed both have now been discontinued, a spokesperson for the US-headquartered snacks and confectionery giant told Just Food the withdrawal will “disappoint some consumers”.

A statement read: “We worked incredibly hard to ensure that these better-for-you products retained the indulgence and great taste that consumers expect from Cadbury, and whilst the initial response from consumers was positive, sales and availability have significantly dropped.”

Despite the axe, the spokesperson said Mondelez will continue to invest in its Cadbury Delights brand, a chocolate bar with “fewer” than 100 calories.

“We remain fully committed to delivering in the wellbeing space by bringing forward an increased range of better-for-you products, alongside investment in reformulation, portion control and education,” Mondelez added.

Reformulation is currently a key topic in the food industry, especially around manufacturers of confectionery, salty snacks, and in some cases ready meals or foods considered to be overly processed.

Portion control is one solution, along with regulatory efforts to cut the promotion of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) as a means to lower obesity rates, particularly in children. And in the wider scheme of things to reduce the prevalence of health conditions such as heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.

The rise of the GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, originally designed to address Type-2 diabetes, has made food reformulation an increasingly important proposition.

It is not the first time that Mondelez has withdrawn a better-for-you confectionery product from the market.

In the same year as the Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier and Nuttier Trail Mix launch, Mondelez revealed it would end production of its 30% less sugar chocolate bars, a variation of the Cadbury Dairy Milk range.

Those bars were rolled out in the UK and Ireland in 2019.

At the time of the launch, Mondelez said the bars supported the company’s “ongoing commitment to play its role in tackling obesity, including childhood obesity, in the UK”.

A spokesperson told Just Food upon the 2023 withdrawal: “We not only invested heavily in developing a bar that consumers told us tasted great but also in promoting it through a nationwide marketing campaign. Despite these efforts, demand for this product has dropped and we have sadly taken the decision to delist it.”

Another confectionery giant, Nestlé, has encountered similar barriers to the uptake by consumers of low-sugar variants. In 2020, Nestlé discontinued Milkybar Wowsomes with 30% less sugar. The product was pulled after an “underwhelming” two years in the UK and Ireland markets, the company said at the time.