McVitie's has changed the recipes of its Club and Penguin biscuits, reducing cocoa content so significantly that they can no longer be labelled as chocolate biscuits. The snacks are now described as 'chocolate flavour' after the manufacturer replaced cocoa with palm oil and shea oil.
The changes, made earlier this year, come amid soaring cocoa prices driven by poor harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast due to extreme weather linked to climate change. Cocoa prices doubled last year, reaching a record of nearly $11 per kilogram in January, though they have since eased.
Pladis, McVitie's owner, confirmed the recipe adjustments in a statement: 'We made some changes to McVitie’s Penguin and Club earlier this year, where we are using a chocolate flavour coating with cocoa mass, rather than a chocolate coating. Sensory testing with consumers shows the new coatings deliver the same great taste as the originals.'
The classic Club slogan has been updated from its chocolate-focused version to: 'If you like a lot of biscuit in your break, join our Club.' Other products, such as Mini BN and BN Mini Rolls, already use 'chocolate flavour' descriptions. Nestlé's KitKat White and McVitie's white digestives also lost their white chocolate status earlier due to insufficient cocoa butter content.
Manufacturers are employing various tactics to manage costs, including reducing bar sizes and altering recipes. A Nestlé spokesperson said: 'We regularly review our recipes to balance quality, affordability, and sustainability. Like every manufacturer, we’ve seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa over the past years.'
