Nestlé sent fans into meltdown in 2022 when the company made a major change to its most popular Christmas chocolates.
The iconic glossy Quality Street packaging has been replaced with paper packaging to make it more environmentally friendly and reduce plastic waste.
While many praised Nestlé's move, others were furious and claimed the change had “ruined Christmas”. Even now during the holiday season it is quite a touchy subject…
As such, Quality Street's latest update is sure to cause a stir as the chocolate giant tests another big change, and this time it's about the bathtub itself.
While many people prefer to keep their Quality Street containers and tins every year, reusing them as sewing tins or cake tins, it seems this tradition may soon become a thing of the past, as a 'first of its kind' paper tub has just been launched at Tesco.
More than 200,000 paper boxes will go on sale in selected Tesco supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas, with Quality Street testing to see whether they are popular with shoppers.
Nestlé says gold foil-embellished bathtubs have a “luxurious look and feel.” They add that they have undergone significant testing to ensure food quality and freshness during transportation and storage.
The containers have an integrated resealable function, and once all the sweets have been eaten, they can all be thrown into your home recycling bin.
Quality Street fans already seem quite skeptical about this change, with some claiming that the paper box somehow means the chocolate “won't taste the same”.
WX user @DanHarvey74 told the official Quality Street UK account the same thing. The spokesman assured him that this would not happen.
“The chocolates will taste the same as in the current packaging,” they assured. Dan added, however, that he wasn't convinced.
@bejokex similarly agreed, saying: “They taste different on paper. I won't buy it!
While @ShorehamReads asked: “How is my grandma going to keep her sewing kit there for the next thirty years?” And @AmandaHLondon added: “No, the cans were the best!” I still use some as cake tins – that's proper recycling.
Some also said it was “one change too many” for the brand, while others pointed out that tin is also a fully recyclable material, so they didn't understand the need to switch to paper.
However, not everyone was against more sustainable containers, with Joanne Blackett hoping the price would be reduced because the tubs would be “cheaper to produce”.
And @AndreaTromans1 said the paper tubes “look good.” However, she desperately wanted another change as she wanted Coffee Cremes to return as a regular show.
Bernadette O'grady thought it was a “great idea”, @milkpetal said it was “brilliant” and @ThisOSMeUK1 wrote: “Oh I like it!!!”
Speaking about the process, Jemma Handley, senior brand manager for Quality Street said: “We can't wait to see what Quality Street fans will do with the paper box. A lot of care and hard work has gone into testing and we are proud to be the first major manufacturer to test paper packaging for Christmas.
“The beautiful design was developed specifically for the paper product and we love the look of it. Shoppers can, of course, expect the same tasty Quality Street sweets they know and love inside.
“We know that some Quality Street fans who, controversially, like to put their packaging back into the bin after eating – thanks to the paper container, they can put it back in for a good reason – it could go straight to recycling.”
Cheryl Allen, Director of Sustainability – Confectionery Europe at Nestlé, added: “We are committed to making our packaging more sustainable, keeping in mind the changing needs of shoppers and technological advances. Of course, with all the potential changes to packaging, we want to get it right, so this study will provide us with valuable information that will help us take the next steps in our ongoing efforts to reduce the use of virgin plastic.
For those who still want to get their hands on the old tin, don't panic as Quality Street recently launched a limited edition for Christmas 2024.
They unveiled the project on social media, saying: “For 88 years, the Quality Street tin has been a fixture of Christmas traditions, a symbol of Christmas joy given to loved ones and shared at family gatherings.” That's why we've embraced our Halifax heritage in our stunning 2024 can design.
And for those who, like Andrea, miss coffee cream, it's worth going to Waitrose or John Lewis, where the tubs will only contain sweets. You will also be able to buy branded cans here.
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