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1990 Mars Bar Discovery Highlights 'Shrinkflation' Effect
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Culture & Society

1990 Mars Bar Discovery Highlights 'Shrinkflation' Effect

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A 35-year-old Mars Bar from 1990, found during a house clearance, has gone viral for highlighting 'shrinkflation'.
  • The discovery showed the old bar weighed 62.5g, significantly more than the current 40g version.
  • A Mars spokesperson attributed size changes to consumer demand and manufacturing costs, while the finder joked about touring with the bar.

A 35-year-old Mars Bar, discovered during a house clearance in Scunthorpe, has become an internet sensation, sparking widespread discussion about "shrinkflation." The chocolate bar, with a best-before date of 1991, weighed 62.5g, a stark contrast to the 40g bars available today.

It was nearly as big as my hand, which was kind of why I noticed it.

— Victoria GordonDescribing the discovery of the old Mars Bar.

Victoria Gordon, who runs the cleaning service that found the bar, posted a photo on social media, noting its impressive size. "It was nearly as big as my hand, which was kind of why I noticed it," she told BBC Radio Lincolnshire. She found the bar while clearing out a hoarder's house, where many items were decades old.

We were clearing out a hoarder's house and everything we were rooting through was decades old.

— Victoria GordonExplaining the circumstances of finding the Mars Bar.

A Mars spokesperson acknowledged that bar sizes have been updated over the years due to "consumer demand, alongside considering wider external factors such as manufacturing costs and the price of cocoa." Gordon, whose cleaning service is called Pocket Rockets, is unsure of the bar's fate but humorously suggested it could be "a gold mine" or go on a "UK tour."

This Mars Bar stood out to me because as I picked it up it was nearly the whole length of my hand. I was like, ‘Wow, look at the size of that!’

— Victoria GordonRecounting her initial reaction to the Mars Bar's size.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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