It’s not your imagination ­– the Easter Bunny is becoming a bit meaner every year.

To be fair, it’s not really his fault, but rather the companies making and selling all those sweet treats he reliably delivers annually to homes around the world.

New research by Choice has found that for the second year running, chocolate Easter eggs have fallen victim to the insidious trend of shrinkflation, with boxes of Cadbury hollow chocolate eggs among the products affected.

The Australian consumer advocacy group reported last year that while a 24-pack of Cadbury’s hollow eggs cost $12.50 in 2024, shoppers were paying $15 for a box of 22 eggs in 2025. This Easter, the price has gone up another $3 to $18 – and you get two fewer eggs.

“All up, the former 24-pack of eggs has shrunk by 68 grams and increased in price by $5.50 since 2024, meaning consumers are now paying almost 73 per cent more per 100 grams than they were two years ago,” said Choice journalist Liam Kennedy, who dubbed Cadbury a “serial shrinker”.

“In the past 12 months, Cadbury’s entire range of boxed hollow Easter eggs have been hit by shrinkflation – each carton now contains at least one fewer egg than it did last year.

“In one case, a 15-pack currently selling for $15 has replaced an 18-pack that sold for $13.50 last year.”

Choice found that the “less costs more” trend has also extended to hot-cross buns, with Aldi’s “rocky road-inspired” and “banoffee-inspired” buns both 20 grams lighter than they were last Easter, resulting in a 7 per cent price hike per 100 grams.

Even if your favourite Easter treat hasn’t got smaller, chances are it will still cost more this year.

Data from price comparison platform Zyft has found the price of Cadbury and Lindt Easter bunnies and eggs has increased by as much as a third in the past 12 months, while a recent Seven News report found a Darrell Lea chocolate bunny retailing for $30 at an IGA supermarket.

A Reddit thread this week has attracted criticisms of both the taste and size of Easter chocolate, with one user commenting: “The glass and a half doesn’t even apply to their blocks anymore shrinkflation means its now a glass and a half per 1.2 blocks lol.”

Shrinkflation isn’t new, of course, but it hits particularly hard during a cost-of-living crisis that has been exacerbated by interest rate rises and soaring fuel prices.

Previous investigations have found that products ranging from cereal, biscuits and chips to bathroom cleaner have decreased in size but not in price, including home-brand items sold by major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths.

When Cadbury first started reducing the size of its chocolate bars about six years ago, it claimed the move was aimed at helping curb obesity. Now, it and other manufacturers are blaming Easter shrinkflation on risking production and supply-chain costs – including the price of cocoa.

The cocoa market has been volatile in recent times, with prices soaring in 2024 and then plummeting at the end of last year. Bloomberg predicted in December that the falling wholesale prices wouldn’t feed through to the supermarket aisle until at least the second half of this year – “and even that is far from certain”.

Meanwhile, Australia is seeking to crack down on shrinkflation, which Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh has previously called  a “cunning trick” by manufacturers to force consumers to pay more for less.

The federal government released a consultation paper last September outlining various options to help consumers make more informed choices, such as making unit price displays more readable, imposing fines on non-compliant retailers, and introducing a regime whereby supermarkets have to let shoppers know when a product gets smaller.

“Shrinkflation is frustrating because it happens quietly. The box, the bottle, the tub looks the same, but the contents have changed,” Leigh said at the time.

“Clearer labelling and consistent unit pricing won’t end the practice, but they will make it easier to see what’s happening.”

It may be some consolation for Australian shoppers to know that consumers in other countries are also suffering from shrinkflation.

UK consumer rights website Which? recently released research showing that many popular Easter eggs in Britain were shrinking, with the price per 100 grams increasing by 39 per cent for a Maltesers milk chocolate egg, while Cadbury mini chocolate eggs were up 34 per cent, and the cost of an M&M’s “Crispy” Easter egg rose 40 per cent.

“We’ve had years of shrinkflation, where companies were subtly reducing the size of products instead of increasing the price, but now they’re just blatantly doing both at the same time– and that’s completely mental,” wrote London-based food writer and content creator Gavin Wren.

Returning Down Under, another article published this week by Choice highlights the fact that shrinkflation aside, Aussies pay a “sweet surcharge” for Easter treats.

For example, while an average-sized Freddo frog costs $2 at Woolworths ($5.71 per 100 grams), a Freddo Easter egg containing two Freddos will set you back $11.50 ($9.27 per 100g). Likewise, a standard 100-gram block of Lindt milk chocolate is $8.50 at Big W, while a gold bunny of the same weight is $12.

Whether an Easter hunt involving chocolate frogs and regular chocolate bars has quite the same magic as an Easter “egg” hunt is something only the kids can judge.

For those who are set on chocolate eggs, Choice reports that some brands have made the “unexpected decision” to reverse shrinkage. Aldi’s packets of Dairy Fine mini milk chocolate eggs, for example, have been returned to their pre-2025 size – but with a 33 per cent increase in price.