The 20 least caloric Easter eggs revealed – with one sweet treat containing just 454 calories

The supermarket’s least caloric Easter eggs have been revealed – as the sweet treat-filled holiday approaches.

By analyzing 90 offers from stores in Britain, sports and nutrition site Bulk (www.bulk.com/uk/protein.html) revealed which festive options have the fewest calories out of a list of 20.

Moo Free’s Bunnycomb egg takes first place with a total of 454 kcal per package.

This is followed by the Kinder Surprise Egg, which contains 579 kcal. Elsewhere, selections from Sainsbury’s, Thorntons and Bounty are also included.

The calorie content, the number of grams of sugar in the whole egg and any extra chocolate or sweets in the package were taken into account.

However, a spokesperson for Bulk stressed that indulging in chocolate at Easter is unlikely to completely ruin your weight loss goals.

“Weight gain tends to happen over a much longer period of time, so even if you eat more than your body’s daily calorie intake for several days, you’re unlikely to see any noticeable fat gain,” they explained.

‘However, if you still want to be conscious of your chocolate consumption this Easter, consider buying several smaller Easter eggs instead of one large one.

‘This way you can eat the entire Easter egg in one go, without feeling guilty, while still satisfying your sugar cravings.’

Here, FEMAIL takes a closer look at the five least caloric offers this Easter…

1. Moo Free Bunnycomb Easter Egg (85g), £4.50 – 454kcal

According to Bulk, the supermarket Easter egg with the fewest calories is the Moo Free Bunnycomb Easter Egg – with a total of 454 kcal per pack.

It weighs just 85 grams and contains a dairy-free hollow egg with cinder toffee pieces.

But experts revealed that ‘the whole Easter egg product was also found to contain 40.8 grams of sugar, which is 36% more than the recommended daily allowance of 30 grams advised by the NHS’.

2. Kinder Surprise Egg (100g), £4.50 – 579 kcal

The Easter egg with the second lowest calorie count turned out to be the Kinder Surprise Egg, which contained a total of 579 calories per package.

This consisted of a 100g hollow milk chocolate egg, with a white chocolate lining.

“The Easter egg contains a total of 53.6 grams of sugar, the third lowest amount of sugar of all Easter eggs included in the analysis,” Bulk discovered.

3. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Belgian Dark Chocolate Large Easter Egg (150g), £4.50 -794 kcal

At number three came Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, a large egg made from Belgian dark chocolate.

It contains 794 calories per package.

The product contains a hollow dark chocolate egg weighing 150 g.

The design also features grooves along the chocolate shell.

“The total product contains a total of 62.4 grams of sugar,” the analysis showed.

This was reportedly ‘the fifth lowest number of all the Easter eggs on the list’.

4. NOMO Free From Caramel Filled Easter Egg and Bar (148g), £6.50 – 815kcal

NOMO Free From caramel stuffed egg and bar is the fourth least caloric Easter egg, with a total of 815 calories per package.

This dairy-free offering comes with a caramel-flavored milk chocolate hollow egg and a milk chocolate bar with a vegan caramel filling.

The whole egg contains 619 calories, while the extra candy contains 196 calories

According to Bulk, it contains a total of 51.3 grams of sugar, which is “the second lowest amount of all the Easter eggs on the list.”

5. Thorntons Milk Chocolate Dinosaur Easter Egg (151g), £3 – 823kcal

Thornton’s Milk Chocolate Dinosaur Easter Egg is the fifth least calorific, with a total of 823 calories per packet, the analysis found.

The egg – made from milk and white chocolate – contains 81.5 grams of sugar, ‘more than double the recommended daily amount’.

It comes at a time when Easter egg sales have fallen by 600,000 units in response to rising prices and shrinking inflation.

The drop represents a decline of 12 per cent compared to the same period last year and equates to a drop in turnover of £200,000.

The details emerged following revelations by the Daily Mail and Which? that manufacturers are both reducing the size of their Easter eggs and driving up prices.

Industry leaders blame rising costs and climate change for hitting cocoa crops in West Africa.

This year the large Mars milk chocolate egg has dropped from 252g to 201g, a 20 per cent reduction, but the price has remained the same at £3.

The Twix Milk Chocolate Easter Egg has been reduced from 246g to 200g and the Galaxy Minstrels Easter Egg has been reduced from 234g to 192g.

Last year, Cadbury sold the Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut Inclusions Chocolate egg weighing 532 grams. This year the nearest equivalent weighs 400 grams.

Nestle’s Smarties Orange Easter Egg Large has dropped from 226 grams to 188 grams, and the Yorkie Milk Chocolate Large Easter Egg has been reduced from 242 grams to 196 grams.

Research by Which? has seen some huge price increases. For example, a luxury Easter egg from Maltesers Truffles (286g) has risen from an average of £8 to £13, a 62.5 per cent increase.

At Asda, a Lindt 5 Gold Bunny Milk Chocolate (50g) rose from an average of £2 to an average of £3.11 – an increase of 55.5 per cent.

At Tesco, a Ferrero Rocher Golden Easter egg (250g) rose by £10 to £15, an increase of 50 per cent.

The data on the sales drop was collected by retail data experts Reapp, who suggested the drop was caused by both prices and changes in the way supermarkets are allowed to display Easter eggs.

New laws stipulate that Easter eggs must be in specific aisles and not placed near the cash register, where it is an impulse purchase or where parents could be harassed into purchasing.

Reapp said: ‘Sales of Easter eggs have plummeted by 12 per cent as inflation and legislation drive down confectionery performance.

‘Sales of chocolate eggs have fallen by more than 600,000 units sold in the run-up to Easter.’

As a result, the total value of Easter egg sales to date has fallen by £200,000 to £11.3 million.

James Lamplugh, commercial director at Reapp, said: ‘The evidence of declining Easter egg sales reflects a shift in consumer behaviour. With inflation and a more health-conscious Britain playing a major role in shaping the country’s baskets.

‘Because retailers must comply with HFSS (High Fat Salt and Sugar) legislation, Easter eggs are only sold on special seasonal islands, meaning less visibility for the customer. It’s no surprise that fewer consumers are opting for Easter eggs this year.

He added: ‘Our data shows that as prices rise, shoppers are recalibrating their purchasing behavior and preferring essential items to Easter eggs.’