Assemble, Chocoholics! Cadbury’s have just released a series of almost 400, exclusive, white chocolate creme eggs.
Yet this is the Easter gift which keeps on giving – it gets even better for those with a sweet tooth – if you find one of the egg-cellent treats in stores scattered nationwide, you could be in with the chance to win a cash prize.
If you’re lucky enough to find one of the 371 white creme eggs you could win up to £2,000, which you can put towards even more Easter egg chocolates.
Of course, the number of prizes are very limited – there’s only one chance to win the top £2,000 prize and there are 34 eggs worth £1,000.
There are also a number of smaller £100 prizes to be won, but who needs cash when you’ve got pure foodie joy?
The eggs are the same as the original version with a gooey fondant yolk centre, except the shell is made out of white chocolate.
A single egg – whether it’s hiding a rare white shell or not – costs around 58p, while a five pack costs £2.85.
The white eggs are already in shops, including local newsagents, Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express and Co-op and will stick around until 1 April.
If you find an egg then you must keep the voucher to claim your prize – see the full terms and conditions on the Cadbury website.
If an egg is found by a person under the age of 16 then their parent or legal guardian must claim the prize.
Commence, the real life Willy Wonka-style chocolate hunt!
Meanwhile, some shoppers have been horrified to find Easter eggs already in store, just after Christmas, with some unseasonal sightings discovered as early as 27 December.
If you think this madness is a damning indictment of our society-wide obsession with consumption, you, my friend, are not alone.
Taking to Twitter, Lucy Lawson expressed her shock and horror with numerous emojis:
I kid you not …. seen today !!!?? #easterEggs pic.twitter.com/1onmll6N3g
— lucy lawson (@amypoops) December 27, 2017
The offending eggs, including culprits named as the Malteasers MaltEaster mini bunny, the Milkybar Kid and an unidentified yellow gelatine duckie, who were all found lurking in her local Co-op store on 27 December.
The Easter egg market is so commercialised it even had the Hollywood treatment in Hop:
[ooyala player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ auto=”true” width=”640″ height=”360″ autoplay=”true” pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l” code=”d1a2pzZDE6uH_neKuRDxuQCNsRkzoYRJ”]
Philip Joel was among the confused consumers who stumbled upon the unseasonal atrocity.
Speaking to UNILAD he laughed at the outrage, sarcastically adding:
I’m currently still shaking and being held tightly by my mother with the shock of walking into the Truro branch and seeing not only Easter eggs being displayed, but not seeing any Prosecco reduced yet!!
I love Easter holidays as much as anyone else but selling Easter eggs on the 27th December @coopukfood is a joke pic.twitter.com/HFwre1cPI4
— Philip Joel (@PhilipJoel) December 27, 2017
Philip’s tweet has since picked up traction and he joked he’s now hoping to become ‘the face of unseasonal Easter eggs’ for the food shop giant – or perhaps a ‘calendar to countdown the days’ until the big event.
Co-op responded to the Twitter barrage (but not Philip’s faux job proposition) saying:
As a convenience retailer, our stores often have limited backroom space, which means products go on-shelf when space appears.
Sales figures also show many customers will buy chocolate eggs as soon as they can.
Little do Co-op know back then, the run on the white chocolate creme eggs will no doubt boost their Easter sales of the tiny treat?
…With a hop, skip, and a jump, you could say.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.