Nestle had confirmed it is scrapping an iconic chocolate product that’s made in Newcastle.
The confectionery giant has admitted to customers that it is scrapping the Caramac bar, telling customers it was “a difficult decision”, WalesOnline reports. People have flocked to social media after Pastel, a bakery in Netongrange, Scotland wrote on X, formerly Twitter, to say it was a “sad day”.
And with the bar being a key ingredient in one of its popular lines of pasties, they told how they stocked up after hearing the news. The bakery wrote: “So it’s a sad day, it’s official, there will be no more Caramac bars off the production line.
“It’s been cancelled so I bought as many boxes as I could! They should last a while (I hope) but once they are gone, there will be no more caramac eclairs! And no, caramilk or Milkybar gold are not the same!!!”
That production line has been, since 1996, made at Nestle’s factory in Fawdon. However, the firm has previously confirmed it is ending production there this year – and the future of the plant and its 650 workers is unclear.
Followers were so shocked at the news of Caramac’s demise that some even accused the Scottish bakery of “fake news”. It led Pastel to explain where they had discovered their information saying “I did not post this to sell more eclairs!”.
They wrote they would answer a few “burning questions: They said:”1. We were advised of the rumours by our wholesaler a good couple of months ago and have been hoarding stock for the official announcement, which wholesalers were given last week, so we got all we could get our hands on! 2. Your right [sic], there is nothing online, but the advice also included Animal Bars too, so if you or your kids have a fondness, grab them quick too!
“3. We will most definitely get through the stock we have. We are only a wee village bakery but go through 1-2 boxes a week so confident we won’t have to get rid of any 4. Caramilk, Milkybar gold, Callebaut gold and other types are not the same.”
She added: “I’ve been eating caramac since I was a kid so I can tell the difference a mile off! Although we may need to swap to one of the others when the time finally comes.”
The post has already been shared 330 times and attracted 1.1K comments with most upset to hear the news. Keith said: “My favourite bar” while Charlene added: “No, no, no! I love this stuff.” Jennifer said: “Nooooo this is my favourite chocolate I’ll need to stock up totally gutted.”
Linda said: “What a disgrace how many more of our favourite chocolates are going to disappear my hubby loves these.” And Angela added: “Noooo. I’m still not over the Topic going!” Leanne said: “Let’s get a petition going.” Lisa commented: “End of an era.”
Caramac was originally created by Mackintosh’s and since it launch over 60 years ago in 1959 it has been a mainstay of the confectionery fixtures across the UK. The name is a combination of ‘Caramel’ and ‘Mackintosh’ and was determined through a competition held by the management team at Mackintosh’s for their workers at the factory in Norwich.
Since its launch the bar has been produced in the UK, initially it was produced at the Mackintosh factory in Norwich, then in 1996 production moved to Newcastle where it continued until now. Unlike most of the bars on sale Caramac has a unique flavour and texture due to it containing no cocoa. It is particularly appealing to those with intolerances to cocoa and gluten, according to the Iceland website.
Despite the claims that the poster was making it up Nestle replied to their question confirming the news. It told the bakery: “Unfortunately we had to withdraw Caramac from our range as sales were relatively low. It was a difficult decision for us because we’re proud of all our products and don’t like to disappoint our consumers. We hope you can understand why we took this decision.”
A Nestlé spokesperson confirmed the news to Walesonline: They said: “We are very sorry to disappoint fans of Caramac. There has been a steady decline in its sales over the past few years and we had to make the difficult decision to discontinue it.
“We know fans will be disappointed to see it go, but this change will enable us to focus on our best-performing brands, as well as develop exciting new innovations to delight our consumers’ tastebuds.”
This is the latest confectionary product to be scrapped. Earlier this year Cadbury said it was discontinuing varieties including the small bags of Dairy Milk buttons and its Dairy Milk 30% less sugar.
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Source: www.chroniclelive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2023-11-07 22:09:45
