McVitie’s has axed its cocoa-flavoured Rich Tea biscuit after less than 18 months.
Billed as a “deliciously dunkable, crisp cocoa biscuit”, The Cocoa One hit Tesco in July 2024.
Like Rich Tea The Light One, which rolled out in 2022 – then called Delights – The Cocoa One was HFSS-compliant. It aimed to offer a “chocolatey fix” to shoppers seeking lighter options, McVitie’s said.
However, response was mixed, as evidenced by customer reviews on Tesco’s website. A three-star review from December described the biscuits as “bland but harmless”, while a one-star review in the same month called them “disappointing”.
This preceded the disappearance of Rich Tea The Cocoa One from Tesco at the end of 2025 [Assosia 12 w/e 6 January 2026].
“We regularly review our range to ensure we’re offering products that best meet our consumers’ tastes and expectations,” a spokeswoman for McVitie’s owner Pladis told The Grocer. “As part of this process, we’ve decided to retire McVitie’s Rich Tea The Cocoa One to make room for exciting new additions.”
One such addition is an “on-trend” cinnamon variant for McVitie’s’ non-HFSS Digestives lineup: The Light One Golden Cinnamon (rsp: £1.69/250g).
The NPD is already in Morrisons and will roll into Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Ocado on 11 January.
McVitie’s £5.8m gain last year was attributable to higher prices. It sold 6.7 million fewer kilos of its sweet biscuits, according to NIQ data [52 w/e 6 September 2025].
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