Chocolate is now one of the UK’s most shoplifted items…

Chocolate bars are being locked inside plastic security boxes in some UK supermarkets following a spike in cases of them being stolen to order, it has emerged.

As reported by the BBC, Sainsbury’s confirmed it has begun using “boxes on products which are regularly targeted”, with £2.60 bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk placed under lock and key at one London branch.

Other major retailers, including Tesco and Co-Op, have also introduced transparent security boxes that require staff assistance to open.

The Heart of England Co-Op group, which operates 38 stores across the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, told the BBC that chocolate theft alone cost it £250,000 last year. It was the group’s most stolen product in 2024 and ranked second only to alcohol in 2025.

According to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), chocolate is increasingly being resold through criminal channels and is attracting repeat offenders.

“Confectionery, like other products commonly stolen from local shops, is being re-sold through illicit markets that help fund wider criminal activity,” said ACS Chief Executive James Lowman. “Alongside better police support and effective sentences for repeat offenders, we need action to shut down the networks re-selling stolen goods.”

Meanwhile, a National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesperson pointed out that its Retail Crime Strategy “brings together policing, retailers, the security industry and academia to collectively tackle this crime type“.

They said this included training and support for retailers, advising on best use of security and investment in technology and quicker and easier reporting systems.