Chocolate bar Toblerone is well known for its chunky triangular design.

One of the best things about going to airports or reaching into your Christmas stocking is finding a Toblerone and munching on some nougat chocolate.

But now the distinctive triangular chunks have changed due to the rising cost of ingredients. Versions of the treat have lost almost 10% in weight and now have longer gaps between the peaks. The packaging has stayed the same.

The change means 400g bars have dropped to 360g and 170g bars to 150g.

US company Mondelez International, which produces Toblerone, said the move was needed to ensure it "remains on-shelf" and keeps its "triangular shape".

The new style of Toblerone

A statement on the Toblerone Facebook page said: "Toblerone remains one of the best value and most delicious Swiss chocolate products in the market.

"This is because we always work hard to ensure we offer value for money for our consumers, but like many other companies, we are experiencing higher costs for numerous ingredients.

"We carry these costs for as long as possible, but to ensure Toblerone remains on-shelf, is affordable and retains the triangular shape, we have had to reduce the weight of just two of our bars in the UK, from the wider range of available Toblerone products."

The move follows Walkers crisps which hiked the prices of its products recently, citing "fluctuating foreign exchange rates", and food giant group Unilever, which said it would raise prices because of the drop in Sterling after Brexit.

Robert Haigh, director at consultancy Brand Finance, said: "They [Mondelez International] don't seem to have the reverence for traditional confectionery that the previous owner did.

"They have tinkered around with some products with mixed success. Creme Egg sales plunged when they changed the recipe, for example.

"Not changing the packaging could be seen as deceptive and we will wait to see whether it has a negative effect. Like Marmite, Toblerone has an impact on the cultural consciousness that far outweighs its actual popularity."

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