Wal-not Whip: Nestlé cuts the nut out of its chocolate treat

Following shrinking Maltesers bags and Toblerones with bigger gaps, Nestlé has announced the “walnot whip”, launching the first nut-free versions of its oldest chocolate brand after the price of the key ingredient surged.

The vanilla and caramel versions of the Walnut Whip, a cone of milk chocolate with a fondant filling, will go on sale this week under the Nestlé Whip brand, with a mint variant to follow next month.

Alison Clinton, the brand manager of chocolate classics at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: "These new products will offer consumers more choice, enabling them to share their favourite products with their family and friends."

First produced by Duncan's of Edinburgh in 1910, Nestlé claims one Walnut Whip is eaten every two seconds in the UK.

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The company has previously offered alternative flavours to the classic vanilla, but all have been topped with half a walnut.

The new variants cater to those who do not like nuts, but are also being launched as nut prices rise.

A combination of the falling value of the pound, strong global demand, particularly in Asia, and a poor crop last year in Chile, one of the world's major producers, pushed up prices of walnuts in Britain by about 20 per cent earlier this year, according to Helen Graham, an importer.

“There was a shortage of crop and then there is the additional factor of exchange rates and rising transport costs as well,” she said.

Nestlé said walnut fans would still be able to buy single Walnut Whips all year round and six-packs at Christmas.

– Guardian Service