Chocolate Anti Theft measures spread as London supermarkets lock bars amid surge in shoplifting
Shops across the UK have begun using clear security boxes and shelf barriers in a move described as a response to accelerating chocolate anti theft concerns, with retailers and police saying thieves are stealing bars "to order" and reselling them through illicit markets.
Which products are being locked up and where
Sainsbury's has introduced "boxes on products which are regularly targeted, " and one London branch had £2. 60 bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk locked in plastic boxes. At the Sainsbury's Local on City Road in central London, 120g bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Oreo priced at £1. 50 (reduced from £2. 40) were secured in boxes when inspected, while higher-end bars such as Tony's Chocolonely at £3 and Green & Black's and Lindt Excellence at £3. 85 were also being protected behind sliding plastic barriers marked "Restricted: For stock enquiries, please ask a member of staff. " Retailers are fitting clear boxes equipped with electronic alarms to protect items including Dairy Milk and Lindt.
Police footage and arrests show organised theft patterns
In recent months police forces have posted videos highlighting the problem: West Midlands Police shared CCTV of a man grabbing trays of chocolate from a shop in Stourbridge, and Wiltshire Police released footage of a man dragging a whole shelving stand of chocolate out of a shop door. Earlier last year Cambridgeshire Police arrested a man found with a coat full of Cadbury's Crème Eggs. Cambridgeshire Police said chocolate is "one of a number of high-value items thieves often target, along with products such as alcohol, meat and coffee, " and warned that "retail theft has a real and lasting impact – not just on businesses, but on the staff who have to deal with related abuse and intimidation. " The National Police Chiefs' Council said it was working to tackle this type of crime.
Retail losses, official figures and the scale of the problem
The British Retail Consortium's annual crime report recorded 5. 5 million detected incidents of shop theft last year and 1, 600 daily incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers; the total was down by a fifth on the previous year but remained the second highest on record. The BRC also said retailers faced 5. 5 million incidents that cost them more than £400m. Official figures published in July showed shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales reached 530, 643 in 2024-2025, up 20% from 444, 022 in 2023-2024, the highest total since police records began in 2002-2003, per ONS figures.
Store-level impact and industry responses
The Heart of England Co-Op group, which runs 38 stores in the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, said chocolate theft cost it £250, 000 last year; chocolate was the group's most stolen product in 2024 and was topped only by alcohol in 2025. Chief executive Steve Browne called chocolate theft a "massive issue, " saying "in a particular shop, one individual could cost us thousands of pounds in a week" and that thieves were "literally swiping the whole shelf. " He added a shelf of chocolate could be worth £500 and the group had spent £3m on security and other measures to prevent thefts. Independent retailers are also affected: Sunita Aggarwal, who runs two convenience stores in Leicester and Sheffield, said she has reduced the amount of chocolate on display in her Sheffield store because "people are just coming in, and nicking boxes and boxes of chocolate. "
Industry calls for more policing and tougher sentences
The Association of Convenience Stores said sweets and chocolate have long been among the top three items targeted, and that the products are now "sold on by criminals and are now being targeted more frequently by prolific offenders. " Chris Noice of the Association of Convenience Stores said the problem was shifting from opportunistic theft to more organised activity. James Lowman warned that "confectionery... is being re-sold through illicit markets that help fund wider criminal activity" and called for better police support and effective sentences for repeat offenders.
Security measures in stores and investment to tackle theft
Supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco and Co-Op have tightened security by fitting transparent boxes that customers must ask staff to open; some stores use shelf-edge protection instead. A Sainsbury's spokesperson said stores have "a range of security measures" and that where theft levels are higher, some branches take additional steps such as boxes on regularly targeted products or shelf-edge protection. Lucy Whing, crime policy lead at the British Retail Consortium, said retailers have invested over £5bn in the last five years to tackle theft and crime, listing plastic sliders, security tags and restricted fill among the measures, and adding that "ultimately such theft is not a victimless crime, pushing up the price for honest shoppers. "
The National Police Chiefs' Council said it was working to crack down on the trend and police and retailers continue to roll out clearer security and public appeals as part of ongoing efforts to deter organised shoplifting.
