Consumer NZ has eggsplored how much more we pay for chocolate in a hollow egg or bunny shape.

“The fact we pay more for a perfectly packaged easter treat won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the price premium is no yolk. It may be more than you think,” says Consumer NZ investigative writer Ruairi O’Shea.

Cadbury Dairy Milk: block vs egg

A 100g Dairy Milk Easter egg and a 180g block of Dairy Milk both cost $5 each. But with the block, you’re getting plenty more choc for your coin.

“It works out to be a whopping 80 per cent more expensive if you opt for your Dairy Milk fix in shiny egg form,” says O’Shea.

The battle of the bunnies

The Lindt bunny is a pricey Easter treat at $8.90 per 100g. But in a battle of the Easter bunnies, Nestle’s super-cute Milkybar version has the dubious pleasure of being the most expensive Easter treat Consumer looked at.

“At $8 per bunny, which works out at $9.09 per 100g, the Nestle bunny is cuteness at an eggs-traordinary price.”

By way of comparison, a classic 170g of Nestle Milkybar costs $4.39. The bunny version of the sweet treat costs a whopping 252 per cent more per 100g.

“If it’s the creamy Lindt hit you’re after, and you’re not bothered about having a bunny with a gold bell, then opt for a 100g bar of Lindt chocolate instead. At $4.80, it’s almost half the price.”

Value options

For those on a bargain Easter egg hunt, Consumer also checked out the cost of own-brand offerings.

“The cheapest eggs we hunted down were the Waikato Valley eggs at The Warehouse, which cost $3.50 per 100g.

“Woolworths’ own-brand Easter egg was $4.50 for 100g, cheaper than other options we looked at, but still significantly dearer than a bar of its own-brand Belgian Milk Chocolate, which works out at a tasty $1.53 per 100g.”

What’s behind the bunnies’ bloated pricing?

Consumer was advised that their seasonal nature, and process and packaging complexities were behind the higher prices for most of the Easter goodies.

Plus, if you're spending big bucks on Easter box sets, you're shelling out for the additional packaging too.

A Cadbury Creme Egg box set containing a traditional Easter egg and six mini Creme Eggs – a total of 170g of chocolate – costs $14, which works out at $8.24 per 100g.

“We calculated you could save money if you bought a 100g Dairy Milk egg and a pack of mini Creme Eggs. That would set you back $12.50, for a choccie treat of 210g, which works out at $5.95 per 100g.”

Break the mould and make your own

According to Consumer, if you’re buying multiple Easter eggs, it’s probably cheaper to make your own.

Wary of eggsploitation, O’Shea put his money where his mouth was, and bought an Easter egg mould and some quality chocolate, then proceeded to make his own egg.

“I shelled out $20 on a mould to make my own egg. While it’s hard to beat store-bought prices if you’re just hunting out one egg, if you need multiple treats, you could make DIY a new Easter tradition.

“Making Easter eggs for the whole family is likely cheaper than buying half-a-dozen in store.”