A family Christmas without a tin of Cadbury’s Roses is almost as unthinkable as going without mince pies or crackers. But nothing, it seems, is sacred in these straitened times and this year the famous tins will be replaced with recycled cardboard boxes.

Cadbury says that the tins are more expensive to produce because of the rising cost of steel, but it rushed out an assurance yesterday that the boxes were an experiment and would be sold only in Tesco stores this Christmas. They will be rolled out elsewhere only if customers take to the new containers.

Giant tins of Heroes, which feature miniature versions of Cadbury’s best-known chocolate bars such as Dairy Milk, Caramel and Fudge, will also be packaged in recycled cardboard for Tesco. Christmas stockings may also feel a little lighter as the packaging in selection packs is reduced.

Cadbury insisted that the change in the presentation of Britain’s most popular line of confectionery at Christmas was motivated by environmental issues. The chocolate maker claimed that replacing tins with 100 per cent sustainably sourced cardboard would save 201 tonnes of steel a year and cut packaging by 45 per cent per pack.

The company will also reduce the cost of making a large box of Roses or Heroes by experimenting with switching to recycled cardboard. Customers buying boxes rather than tins may not save any money, though, because the £8.31 recommended retail price stays the same. However, bigger supermarkets often discount key purchases such as Roses in the weeks running up to Christmas. At the moment, Tesco is offering them for £5.

Fans of the chocolates, about £85 million worth of which will be sold this Christmas, can be reassured on one count: the weight of chocolates in the box will stay the same, at 975g.

The cylindrical tin will be replaced by a cardboard cuboid, in the famous blue and red colours, emblazoned with the familiar Roses logo.

Chocolate makers have been criticised for the environmental impact of their product, with high levels of packaging and a hefty carbon footprint from transporting cocoa to the developed world. Yet Cadbury may find a backlash from consumers anxious to preserve the traditional components of their Christmas.

Cadbury was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 yesterday as the chances of a knockout bid by Kraft, the American food group, receded. Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive of Kraft, dampened speculation that the company might make a bid acceptable to Cadbury before a deadline of next Monday, by which time it must make a formal offer or walk away.

Analysts cut their target price on Cadbury, helping to send the chocolate maker’s shares down 1.42 per cent to 767p. JPMorgan cut its target price from 820p per share to 780p.

Investec cut its target from 840p to 785p. “We now think Kraft will be willing to pay only 800p, and the probability of a successful bid falls accordingly,” the bank said.

Kraft, the maker of Oreo cookies, disappointed investors on Monday by trimming its sales forecast for next year from 3 per cent growth to 2 per cent. Kraft’s share price also fell — by more than 3 per cent to $26.67.

Six uses for Roses tins

1 Sewing kits

2 Screws and nails

3 Cakes and buscuits

4 Old letters

5 Pens and pencils

6 Jewellery

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