A Cadbury discount store is facing backlash as religious groups accuse the shop of erasing Easter by advertising chocolate eggs as “gesture eggs”.
A display in the Springfields Outlet in Spalding, Lincolnshire offered customers a deal on “gesture eggs”.
A children’s event at the outlet store – which is an independent retailer run by Freshstore but licensed by Cadbury – has also sparked uproar as its advert includes no reference to Easter.
The removal of the word “Easter” has provoked anger among the Christian community.
Reacting to the “gesture eggs”, one social media user said: “What is a woke gesture egg?! It’s an EASTER EGG given to celebrate Christian tradition in a Christian country.”
Another added: “What the hell is a ‘Gesture Egg’??? Time for a boycott.”
A third said: “For the record @CadburyUK this is an EASTER egg!
“We buy them to celebrate Easter, a Christian holiday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It is not a ‘gesture egg’!!”
It is understood that every Cadbury Easter shell egg sold in the UK references “Easter” on the packaging.
The chocolate firm say that “Easter” is still used in Cadbury’s advertising and the promotional poster was created by the outlet store itself – which Cadbury had no involvement in.
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“If it wasn’t for Easter, we wouldn’t have a reason for Easter eggs,” Tim Dieppe, the head of public policy at Christian Concern told The Telegraph.
“So I’m wondering why Cadbury wants to erase the connection between Easter and eggs, because if people stop celebrating Easter then they might stop buying Easter eggs.”
He added: “I’m surprised that they are avoiding saying the word ‘Easter’, as that’s the time of year – it’s the Easter holidays, the Easter festival – and I’m surprised they’d want to avoid reference to Easter with things like this.”
A Cadbury spokesperson said: “This promotion is not Cadbury led and we had no involvement in any way.
“All Cadbury Easter shell eggs sold in the UK reference Easter very clearly on the packaging – sometimes multiple times. Cadbury has used the word Easter in our marketing and communications for over 100 years and continue to do so with our new Easter product range. To claim anything otherwise is factually incorrect.
“We are proud of the role we play within families’ Easter celebrations and have a wide range of products that can be enjoyed throughout the Easter season.”
Cadbury is facing backlash as religious groups accuse the brand of erasing Easter by advertising chocolate eggs as ‘gesture eggs’ in one of its discount storesGetty
Cadbury has previously come under fire erasing the word “Easter” from its marketing.
In 2017, a National Trust Easter egg trail – which was sponsored by Cadbury -was renamed the “Great British Egg Hunt”.
The Church of England alleged that the National Trust and Cadbury were “airbrushing faith”.
Then Prime Minister, Theresa May branded the move “absolutely ridiculous”.
At the time, Cadbury said it wanted to appeal to non-Christians, they added: “We invite people from all faiths and none to enjoy our seasonal treats.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
