Food

Mutiny on the Bounty: new Celebrations boxes throw out divisive chocolate

Nearly 40% of those polled told Mars that the coconut sweet should be permanently axed

Celebrations: Mars is putting a limited-edition tub without Bounty bars on sale in the run-up to Christmas

Zoe Wood
Thu Nov 3 2022 - 09:40

With its creamy coconut centre, a Bounty bar claims to taste of paradise, but it seems one person’s heaven really is another’s hell: Mars has decide to trial a “No Bounty” tub of Celebrations in the UK this Christmas after its consumer research confirmed their status as the least-popular sweet in the selection.

The experiment comes after nearly 40 per cent of those polled told the company the Bounty should be permanently axed from the Celebrations line-up, where it struggles to compete with the star power of the “all-time favourite” Maltesers.

The arrival of big tubs of Quality Street, Roses, Celebrations and Heroes in supermarket aisles 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.

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

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But all is not lost, as the research also revealed the Bounty retained a hard core of older fans, with close to 40 per cent of over-55s saying it was their favourite.

Mars has been stoking controversy around this Marmite-esque treat. In 2021 it ran an advert featuring a Bounty bar finding love with another unloved Christmas staple, the Brussels sprout. It also ran a return scheme that let people swap unwanted Bounty bars for Maltesers Teasers in supermarkets in January.

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

In the limited-edition tubs, Bounty bars have been replaced with extra Mars, Snickers, Milky Way, Galaxy and Maltesers. Only 2,000 tubs have been produced, and they are available only at pop-ups in 40 large Tesco stores around the UK in the run-up to Christmas. – Guardian

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