Toblerone Chocolate Bar Design Overhaul Outrages Fans

Forget the U.S. election. Britain is embroiled in a row of far greater national significance after it emerged on Tuesday that the makers of iconic Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone will be modifying its U.K. bars to avoid a price hike.

The gaps between the chocolate's distinctive triangular segments are being made wider in order to reduce the weight of the 400 gram and 170 gram bars sold in the U.K. to 360 gram and 150 gram respectively.

In a statement, the company said it was "experiencing higher costs for numerous ingredients," and therefore had to reduce the size of the bars in order "to ensure Toblerone remains on-shelf, is affordable and retains the triangular shape."

A spokesperson for Toblerone tells Newsweek that the change only affects these two bars sold in the U.K. Asked whether the change was related to the fall in the value of the pound in recent months, the spokesperson said: "This change is as a result of higher ingredient cost, e.g. increasing price of cocoa which we have been experiencing for some time now."

The slippage in the value of the pound and other after-effects of the EU referendum vote have led to price rises in other products, including the breakfast spread Marmite.

The move has left some fans of the bars outraged. "Why not just increase the price? Shame there are now really good dupes on the market isn't it?" someone asked on the brand's Facebook page.

"It's not aesthetically pleasing and it no longer looks like a premium product," complained another.