A spokesperson for Mondelez Ireland has confirmed to Retail Intelligence that it is "no longer feasible" to continue producing pink Cadbury Snack bars in Ireland, "where the costs are twice as high as in other European locations".
Last week, Mondelez issued a statement saying it was ceasing production of pink Snack bars and Time Out bars at its Coolock plant, as sales of both products 'have been in decline for a number of years'.
However, as Retail Intelligence pointed out, the Cadbury Snack brand actually grew its sales last year, rising from 87th to 85th in the Checkout Top 100 Brands, in association with Nielsen.
As the spokesperson told RI, "The Nielsen figures are for all three Snack brands: Pink, Purple and Yellow.
"Pink Snack has only been sold in Ireland for a number of years - it was discontinued in the UK in the mid-1980s - and Time Out is under review and production may be switched to an existing Mondelez wafer factory in Poland."
Last week, Gerard Maguire, a store owner in Glasthule, Co. Dublin (pictured), launched an online campaign to save the pink Snack from extinction, featuring the hashtag #SavePinkSnacks.
As he told the Irish Independent, "I went into Musgraves and said 'Can I have your Pink Snacks?' They asked, 'One box?' I replied, 'No, every one of them'."
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
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