Retail insights

Mars pulls Bounty bars from Christmas Celebrations after consumer backlash

04-Nov-2022 - Last updated on 04-Nov-2022 at 15:22 GMT

No more Bounty! Mars is pulling the mini bar from its Celebrations tub this year. Pic: Mars UK

Mars UK has taken the controversial decision to trial a ‘No Bounty’ tub of its popular Celebrations chocolate assortment offering, which are a staple in many homes over the festive period.

Consumer research fed back to the company’s UK headquarters in Slough confirmed the Bounty’s status as the least popular sweet, a spokesperson said.

Almost 40% of consumers polled told Mars the Bounty should be permanently withdrawn from the Celebrations’ lineup, where it struggles to compete with the pulling-power of ‘all-time favourite’ Maltesers.

In separate research by online supermarket Britsuperstore, it said it has analysed over 5 million search results to see what the British public actually thinks and which chocolate is actually the least liked in a Celebrations’ tub.

Its study found the nation's least favourite Celebration chocolate is, in fact, the Milky Way, only receiving under 8,000 searches over the past five Christmases compared to Maltesers being crowned the nation's Celebrations favourite, receiving over 170,000 searches.

The results also show that last Christmas, Galaxy was the most enjoyed chocolate of the tub with over 100,000 searches, with Milky Way still proving to be the nation's most undesired Celebrations’ chocolate.

Tensions

Celebrations, along with other brands such as Quality Street, Roses, and Heroes, signals the start of Christmas, with huge quantities sold between now and the end of December. Each brand has its loyalists and tensions can run high if favourites are not shared out equally – or worse still, there are only Bounty bars and coconut eclairs left, the Guardian commented.

“Last year, we gave customers the opportunity to return their unwanted Bounty chocolates,” said, Emily Owen, Celebrations senior brand manager. “Now, off the back of public demand, we’re trialling taking them out of the tub altogether.”

She revealed a fifth of those surveyed told Mars the Bounty was their least favourite Celebration while nearly 60% said it would cause a family argument at Christmas if they opened the tub and found only the coconut treat languishing in the bottom.

The research also revealed the Bounty retained a hardcore of older fans, with close to 40% of over-55s saying it was their favourite.

Is the Bounty a temporary omission for this year?. “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” Owen teased.