Snickers bars are being made in Australia again, but the beloved chocolate bar has become the latest victim of shrinking inflation as the manufacturer looks to cut costs.
Mars Wrigley Australia moved its manufacturing of Snickers bars to China while the company’s Ballarat factory was undergoing upgrading. In August he brought the bars back home, but the higher manufacturing cost means they have been scaled back.
While the chocolates will still cost consumers $2, the locally made chocolates weigh 44g, compared to those produced in China which weighed 50g.
Some stores like Woolworths still stock 50g bars, while Coles has transitioned to 44g bars.
A spokesman for Mars Wrigley Australia said cost increases were to blame.
“Like many Australian businesses, we are facing unprecedented cost pressures across our operations, driven by a variety of external factors,” the spokesperson said.
“While we continue to absorb cost increases, there is sometimes a need to change product weight to ensure we can continue to supply our beloved chocolate bars to Australian consumers.”
The company did not confirm whether salary differences between the two countries were a factor.
Mars Wrigley Australia is one of the largest in the country along with Nestlé Australia and Mondelēz Australia.
The company had come under fire online for moving manufacturing overseas in May 2021, but the spokesman said it was only a temporary measure while the Ballarat site underwent a $100 million renovation.
“As a proud Australian manufacturer, wherever possible we make our products locally at our two manufacturing sites in Ballarat and Asquith,” the spokesperson said.
“Our Ballarat factory has been producing some of the country’s most beloved brands, including M&M’s, Maltesers, Mars, Snickers and Pods for over 43 years.”
The spokesman would not say whether any of these other locally made products had also recently been reduced.
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