Easter’s Evolving Eggs

This Easter marks the 150^th anniversary of the first hollow, chocolate eggs. These eggs marked the start for chocolate Easter products around the globe, but how have they evolved over the years?

Before the first chocolate egg, people in the UK gave each other hard boiled eggs decorated with bright colours to each other at Easter. In 1873, Fry’s made the first chocolate egg and 2 years later, Cadbury’s created their own spin on the chocolate egg. They were filled with little sugar-coated chocolate drops called “Dragees”. They did not become popular until 1905, when Cadbury’s most popular product (The Dairy Milk Bar) launched. This product increased the sales of the Cadbury’s chocolate egg and established them as a seasonal treat people would look forward to. 

When they were first made, Chocolate eggs were made from just dark chocolate, but today we find them in all types of chocolates.  It is expected for chocolate companies to produce their own chocolate eggs. In fact, chocolate Easter products are no longer limited to being in the form of a hollow egg. There are now products such as the Cadbury Crème eggs (created in 1963) which are filled with a sweet fondant and Reese’s peanut butter eggs (created in 1967) that are filled with peanut butter. Some don’t even come in the shape of an egg anymore with many in the shapes of rabbits or chickens such as The Malteaster Bunny (which came out in 2009).

After 150 years, chocolate eggs have evolved so much and are now a much-loved staple of Easter culture around the world. We are sure that companies will keep increasing their line-up of Easter Products in the future.

By Reuben Yr8

Carre’s Grammar School, Sleaford