A FAMOUS jam brand has confirmed it is shrinking jar size of a popular product due to increased energy and material costs.

Wilkin and Sons has reduced its Tiptree marmalade jars from 454g to 340g in recent months, blaming rising energy and raw material costs.

The size change has reduced the recommended price of a jar for retailers from £2.79 to £2.59 – but despite this cut, shoppers will be paying significantly more for 100g of product.

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A spokesman for Wilkin and Sons said: "We’re sorry to have to raise our prices, but the unprecedented pressure on energy and material costs is hitting us very hard.

"As always, we’ll do our best to make high-quality products at fair prices.

"We have discontinued our 454g marmalade format. Though a reduction in retail price per jar, the change in jar size does reflect a significant increase in price per gramme.

"The 340g format is the jar we use for our jams and we have used the 340g format for both jams and marmalades in our home delivery service for many years."

The company said it had not taken the decision lightly. 

The spokesman continued: "We understand your query and would like to reassure you that this was not a decision which we took lightly.

"We considered many options for how to price our marmalades during this unprecedented time.

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"We have been making marmalade here at Tiptree for many years and hope to be making marmalades for the next century or so, and as such, need to be sensible and sustainable when looking at how much our products are now costing to produce.

"We were reluctant to offer our marmalades at a price point above £3 and decided to reduce the jar size rather than take the retail price well above the £3 mark for the existing 454g range, as we felt that this was a barrier for many consumers.

"We strive to offer top quality products at reasonable prices and felt this reduction in jar size to be the most sensible option to offer consumers a product which they could better afford, at a time when the cost of living for all has risen considerably."