The creator of the Freddo chocolate bar would be 'rolling in his grave' at current prices, his daughter has said. Harry Melbourne's froggy treat cost 10p in its 1990s heyday but now sells for about 30p or even up to £1.
Leonie Wadin, 74, said she once waited impatiently for her father to come home with boxes of Freddos but has now vowed never to buy another one. 'Dad was disgusted with how small it is now and how much they charge for it,' she told Sky News from her home in Melbourne. 'He'd roll over in his grave if he could see it now; he'd be disgusted. It was a penny chocolate. Since Dad died, I haven't bought a Freddo.'
Melbourne created the chocolate at age 14 in 1930, convincing his boss to make a frog instead of a mouse. Named after his 'best mate' Fred, it launched in Australia for a penny. After a brief UK stint in 1973, it gained widespread popularity when relaunched in the 1990s.
However, Sky News analysis suggested that by some measures, a Freddo has become less expensive than in the 1990s, now representing a smaller proportion of an hour's work at minimum wage. Mondelēz International, which owns Cadbury, said manufacturing and supply chain costs have increased significantly over the past 50 years, and they have absorbed costs where possible but occasionally adjusted list prices or multipack sizes.
Wadin wants her father's achievement remembered. 'Carry on through every heritage, that's what I want. The Freddo has to be passed on, Freddo is never going to die,' she said.
