McVitie’s has quietly just launched a brand-new “twist” on one of the most classic British biscuits of all time.
And shoppers have been pretty surprised by the news.
Given that new product launches tend to be something that shops, companies, and food manufacturers shout about from the rooftops whenever they get the chance to, you can probably understand why Tesco customers have been left so shocked after spotting what is a seemingly brand-new biscuit on shop shelves.
In the absence of what appears to be any prior reference or teasing of the product at all, McVitie’s has just dropped a new cocoa-flavoured variation on the humble Rich Tea biscuit, and they can only be found in Tesco.
People have been taking to social media to share their sightings of the new choccy biccie at their local stores this week – including popular UK food-spotting accounts like @newfoodsuk and @newfoodfindsuk.
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Shocked shoppers have spotted a new ‘twist’ on a classic British biscuit on supermarket shelves / Credit: The Manc Group
At this point, it’s quite tricky to give you much more information on the new chocolate treat, other than the fact it… exists.
That’s because a quick Google search for the biscuit’s apparent name, ‘McVitie’s Rich Tea: The Cocoa One’, provides next to nothing on what the product is all about, and it doesn’t seem to be listed on Tesco’s website yet either, which probably means you can only get your hands on them if you actually shop in store.
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Also, when we nipped to the little Tesco Express next to The Manc office earlier today to see if we could find them, we sadly came away empty-handed* (read to the end of the article to see what we did find instead though), so we imagine they’re just hiding inside the bigger stores or Tesco Extra stores for the time being.
Just from the pictures and videos shared by shoppers online though, what we do know is that the new product must be distinguished from the already-existing popular milk chocolate-coated Rich Teas – which have been a mainstay on UK shop shelves for several years now – as there’s no actual chocolate layer on these ones.
Instead, the biscuit itself is cocoa-flavoured, so it’s basically everything you know and love about the Rich Tea, only chocolate-ier (if that’s a word).
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“A cocoa twist on the classic” is how McVitie’s have described it on the branding.
We can also see that, as mentioned, the new biscuits are exclusive to Tesco at the moment, where a pack will set you back £1.25 each with a Clubcard or £1.80 without.
We bet they’ll be rolled out in other supermarkets and shops sometime in the near future though, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
* While we may not have got our hands on a packet of the new McVitie’s Rich Tea: The Cocoa One, we were pretty chuffed to walk away with a bar of the new and now-viral Cadbury Top Deck instead – which grabbed headlines earlier this week as it’s been resurrected from the 90s, and is now on sale at Tesco for the Clubcard price of £1.25.
** Correction – we ended up finding the biscuits in the slightly-bigger Tesco store on Market Street in Manchester city centre instead… what a day.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Shopping
IKEA are hosting a wide range of FREE Christmas activities this winter
Thomas Melia
The flat-pack champions are putting on lots of fantastic events for IKEA members and customers to get involved with this Christmas.
What better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year than to get stuck in with some festive arts and crafts while spreading Christmas cheer?
Even better still, it’s all free!
IKEA have hosted many free events across the holidays and they’re back again this December running a whole host of holiday craft and creative workshops over at their big Ashton-Under-Lyne branch.
Credit: IKEA
Although there may be no seats left at Santa’s breakfast table on Saturday, 7 December, visitors who book now can expect to decorate some delicious decorations at their ‘Gingerbread Creations’ workshop from 11:30am to 4pm.
The following day, you can try your hand at sprucing up your own Christmas tree (once again 11:30am-4pm) by making personalised ornaments with the help of their ‘Tree-rific Decorations’ event on Sunday, 8 December.
There’s also a chance you can show off your ultimate seasonal style in another free festive event which is even suitable for those who might not have a creative streak in them.
Start curating your best snazzy outfits and frocks this festive period, with the homeware retailer putting on a weekend set to feature more Christmas jumpers than any fashion week ever has.
If you aren’t all Christmas-sed out, from 13 to 15 December, you can also embrace the festivities by sporting your best seasonal stuff in-store from 9am until 5pm for their ‘Festive Wear Weekend’.
Once again, all these free festive activities are suitable for everyone, especially families, so why not treat yourself to a nice day out and embrace the holiday season in true Swedish fashion? Quite literally.
You’ll have to act fast if you’re planning on getting involved though, as the Scandinavian furniture company is making way for a total of seven free Christmas activities; their ‘Saint Lucia’, ‘Santa’s Christmas Eve Plate’ and ‘Winter Wreaths for Adults’ workshops are all fully booked already.
Anyone looking to stock up on Christmas activities and squeeze in some quality time in their ever-so-hectic December calendar can do so on IKEA’s website HERE.
Featured Images — IKEA/Zboralski (via Wikimedia Commons)
Shopping
Bents Garden Centre – the Christmas wonderland that everyone, including Molly-Mae Hague, obsesses over
Daisy Jackson
Don’t ask us when it happens, but there’s a point in life where you favourite place on earth becomes a garden centre.
And garden centres don’t come much fancier than Bents Garden Centre, an enormous sprawl of a building filled with the obvious stuff (like, you know, garden plants) but also so much more.
The Warrington favourite is never more popular than at Christmas, when it turns into a twinkling wonderland and people from across the north west make the pilgrimage.
There are colourful decorations spilling out from every corner, from themed baubles to fairy lights to festive soft furnishings.
Bents Garden Centre does not hold back on its decorating – this year alone there are Alpine dining scenes, a life-size car with presents spilling out of the boot, and an arctic landscape with polar bears and igloos.
That’s on top of a whole display inspired by an ice cream parlour, and others that take inspiration from woodland and The Grinch.
There’s also a winter food market, where wooden lodges sell everything from Yorkshire pudding wraps to bratwurst sausages to beef brisket sandwiches.
Inside Bents Garden Centre at Christmas. Credit: The Manc Group
In the outside space there are heated dining globes, decorated with plants, blankets and bunting.
Bents garden centre is so popular, it even had a fairly famous visitor a couple of years ago, when Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury popped in for a day out, documenting the whole thing to her (at the time) 1.7m YouTube subscribers.
She proudly showed off a trolley piled high with food-themed baubles, in the shape of cakes, doughnuts, gingerbread men, candy canes, and even a giant pink lollipop.
She said: “Don’t ask me why we’ve never come here before. It’s SO cosy.”
Molly-Mae added: “This garden centre, Bents, in I think Warrington, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know why we’ve never come here before.
“It’s kind of like a farm shop too, they’ve got food and food stalls. I am so excited to come back here with a baby next year, like it’s so special.
“It is quite expensive I’m not gonna lie, to get all the decorations and things, but we’ll keep them each year and reuse them.”
Emily Sergeant -
20th June 2024 
