Arnott's has seen a wave of consumer backlash on its social media pages over the launch of its “new and improved” Shapes flavours.
The iconic Australian biscuits saw an overhaul last month, with Arnott's saying it to meet consumer demand for “bigger and bolder flavours”. However, social media complaints over the changes have ramped up since the flavours hit shelves this week.
Consumers have taken to Facebook calling the new flavours “disgusting” and saying they are “distraught and furious”.
For the uninitiated, original Shapes had visible seasoning to flavour its different varieties and were the reason for its brand tagline of “flavour you can see”.
The seasoning on the new Shapes mimics salt and has been called “flavour dust” by some consumers. Other complaints say that the way some of the more popular varieties taste has also changed with the overhaul.
In a post on Facebook, Arnott's responded to the criticism noting that the new Shapes have flavours baked into the biscuit as well as a new flavour coating that sticks better to its surface, unlike the old seasoning.
“We've made changes to the Shapes flavours as fans have been asking us to make the flavour bigger and bolder. We've done extensive taste testing with groups of fans and the reactions were overall really positive,” the brand says.
“We'll be listening to all the feedback fans have and making a decision on whether we keep the new flavours on not based on how they are received publicly.”
Arnott's told News.com.au that the flavour change was a bid to provide more authentic flavours, but the publisher is reporting it may have been to improve the health star rating of the biscuits.
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