Nesquik is to revert to a previous formulation in the UK, after shoppers complained a recipe tweak led to a “vile sludge” forming when the powdered drink was mixed with milk.
Approached by The Grocer, brand owner Nestlé confirmed it had tweaked the recipe for Nesquik Milkshake Mix in April, swapping out maltodextrin for rice flavour to improve the product’s texture.
It admitted, however, that the move had “not been popular” with shoppers.
It said it was therefore returning its original recipe in production, which would be back on shelves by next month.
Analysis of Assosia data showed Nestlé changed the recipe of Nesquik Milkshake Mix in both Banana and Strawberry on 20 April. The brand’s Chocolate flavour does not contain either maltodextrin or rice flavour.
The u-turn came after shoppers took to social media to express their anger.
Writing on X, one shopper tagged the brand’s account, asking: “Whatever you have done to the strawberry powder recipe? Please change it back.
“I opened a new tub yesterday and it tastes weird and gets really thick at the bottom,” they added.
Another shopper complained the powdered drink “clumps together at the bottom of the glass and has a weird texture”.
A further shopper added: “The new recipe for banana Nesquik is utterly disgusting with a vile sludge left at the bottom of the glass. Your quality control has messed up big time here.”
A spokeswoman for Nestlé said: “Our aim is always to have the best possible recipe on the market and we sometimes make changes that aim to improve on existing recipes.
“On this occasion the change has not been popular with consumers and we have listened to their feedback.
“We can confirm the old recipe is going back into production and it should be in stores in July. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.”
Nesquik was first introduced by Nestlé in the US in 1948 under the name Nestlé Quik. It arrived in the UK under the name Nesquik in 1957, initially in chocolate and banana flavours. A strawberry-flavoured variant was added in 1960.
No comments yet