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Hold onto your Santa hats, folks, because change is coming to a beloved Christmas staple—and not everyone is happy about it.

For more than 80 years, Quality Street chocolates have been a popular holiday treat. With 11 different flavours, shapes and colours, they’ve been a staple in Christmas Day celebrations across Australia and the UK.

However, you can expect to see a major change in two of the chocolate varieties when you hunt through the Quality Street tub next year.

Nestlé Oceania recently confirmed that the shape of the ‘The Purple One’ (hazelnut flavour) and ‘Orange Chocolate Crunch’ (orange flavour) will change from their traditional oval and hexagon shapes to that of the Caramel Swirl—round.

Have you spotted the new paper tubs yet? Image Credit: Coles/Nestlé

These changes won’t come into effect in Australia until Christmas 2024, but in the UK, the two chocolates will change shape this year in time for Christmas.

In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au, Nestlé said, 'It will still be the same great tasting Purple One and Orange Crunch that people know and love inside the iconic coloured wrappers.'

Changes to the beloved Quality Street packaging in Australia have already begun, with the company switching to paper packaging in July of this year to decrease its plastic use.

'We’re also starting to transition to new paper-based wrappers inside the tub,' said a Nestlé spokesperson.

How important is shape to the flavour perception in food?

It may seem surprising, but the form factor of our food can hugely influence what we taste.

Studies have shown that the shape of food can have an impact not only on taste perception but also on how much we enjoy the eating experience. For example, a study conducted at the University of Oxford found that participants considered cheese to taste saltier when it was cut into a square as opposed to when it was cut into a triangle.

The same principle applies to chocolate, too. According to a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford, the shape of a chocolate can affect its texture and how it melts across the tongue—which in turn changes the taste. As a case in point, the iconic bite-sized, oval Purple Ones or hexagonal Orange Chocolate Crunches from Quality Street might have an altered taste perception due to their transformation into round versions similar to the Caramel Swirl.

What's fascinating is how our brains relay sensory information and how an unexpected change in the familiar—like shape or texture—can trigger uncanny or sometimes even unsettling reactions. Chocolate aficionados might welcome or reject these changes based purely on nostalgia and a potent power of perception.

But fear not, Quality Street devotees, Nestlé assures us that the same cherished flavours will be cocooned inside those iconic coloured wrappers, even if they look a little different to the eye and feel novel to the tongue. So, as we reach into those tubs next Christmas, we’ll just have to feel equal parts of enthusiasm and trepidation, trusting that our palates can brave this bold, round new world!

Key Takeaways

• Nestlé Oceania has confirmed that there will be a change in the shape of two Quality Street chocolate varieties.
• The Purple One and Orange Chocolate Crunch will now both be round instead of their current oval and hexagon shape.
• The change in chocolate shapes in Australia is expected to happen by Christmas 2024.
• The company is also transitioning to paper packaging in an effort to decrease plastic use.

Now that you’re fully in the know, why not crack open a tub of Quality Street, and while you savour the deliciousness, take a moment to cherish all the fond memories of Christmases past.

Members, what do you think of this change? Will it make it harder to find the flavour you are looking for, or do you not mind, as long as their recipe stays the same?

We’d love to hear from you!

 

[magpie1]

After reading this......I swear we are all DOOMED.

 

[Sandygwalk]

​

Hold onto your Santa hats, folks, because change is coming to a beloved Christmas staple—and not everyone is happy about it.

For more than 80 years, Quality Street chocolates have been a popular holiday treat. With 11 different flavours, shapes and colours, they’ve been a staple in Christmas Day celebrations across Australia and the UK.

However, you can expect to see a major change in two of the chocolate varieties when you hunt through the Quality Street tub next year.

Nestlé Oceania recently confirmed that the shape of the ‘The Purple One’ (hazelnut flavour) and ‘Orange Chocolate Crunch’ (orange flavour) will change from their traditional oval and hexagon shapes to that of the Caramel Swirl—round.

View attachment 31704

Have you spotted the new paper tubs yet? Image Credit: Coles/Nestlé

These changes won’t come into effect in Australia until Christmas 2024, but in the UK, the two chocolates will change shape this year in time for Christmas.

In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au, Nestlé said, 'It will still be the same great tasting Purple One and Orange Crunch that people know and love inside the iconic coloured wrappers.'

Changes to the beloved Quality Street packaging in Australia have already begun, with the company switching to paper packaging in July of this year to decrease its plastic use.

'We’re also starting to transition to new paper-based wrappers inside the tub,' said a Nestlé spokesperson.

How important is shape to the flavour perception in food?

It may seem surprising, but the form factor of our food can hugely influence what we taste.

Studies have shown that the shape of food can have an impact not only on taste perception but also on how much we enjoy the eating experience. For example, a study conducted at the University of Oxford found that participants considered cheese to taste saltier when it was cut into a square as opposed to when it was cut into a triangle.

The same principle applies to chocolate, too. According to a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford, the shape of a chocolate can affect its texture and how it melts across the tongue—which in turn changes the taste. As a case in point, the iconic bite-sized, oval Purple Ones or hexagonal Orange Chocolate Crunches from Quality Street might have an altered taste perception due to their transformation into round versions similar to the Caramel Swirl.

What's fascinating is how our brains relay sensory information and how an unexpected change in the familiar—like shape or texture—can trigger uncanny or sometimes even unsettling reactions. Chocolate aficionados might welcome or reject these changes based purely on nostalgia and a potent power of perception.

But fear not, Quality Street devotees, Nestlé assures us that the same cherished flavours will be cocooned inside those iconic coloured wrappers, even if they look a little different to the eye and feel novel to the tongue. So, as we reach into those tubs next Christmas, we’ll just have to feel equal parts of enthusiasm and trepidation, trusting that our palates can brave this bold, round new world!

Key Takeaways

• Nestlé Oceania has confirmed that there will be a change in the shape of two Quality Street chocolate varieties.
• The Purple One and Orange Chocolate Crunch will now both be round instead of their current oval and hexagon shape.
• The change in chocolate shapes in Australia is expected to happen by Christmas 2024.
• The company is also transitioning to paper packaging in an effort to decrease plastic use.

Now that you’re fully in the know, why not crack open a tub of Quality Street, and while you savour the deliciousness, take a moment to cherish all the fond memories of Christmases past.

Members, what do you think of this change? Will it make it harder to find the flavour you are looking for, or do you not mind, as long as their recipe stays the same?

We’d love to hear from you!

Why does everything keep getting changed? It's worked for this long and as they say if it ain't broke don't fix it!0