Whittaker's to release limited edition batch of Honey Bubble Crunch chocolate

The new chocolate block will be sold nationwide for a limited time. Photo / Whittaker's

Calling all chocolate lovers and sweet tooths, a new Whittaker's chocolate block will be released next week and it'll set off nostalgia.

It's called Honey Bubble Crunch and is in supermarkets and retail outlets nationwide on Monday. However, there's only one batch and it's a limited edition block, so you'll have to get in fast.

The block was inspired by a stable of New Zealand baking, honey rice bubble or rice bubble slice, which has been devoured by Kiwis for an age.

Whittaker's has whipped up a version of its own, taking crunchy puffed rice and honey nougat pieces and enveloping them in 28 per cent cocoa white chocolate.

"Back in the day, there was one treat that everyone loved. The classic 'Honey Bubble Crunch'," Andrew and Brian Whittaker said in an email to customers.

"We always loved the flavour, and the lovely crunch of the puffed rice pieces.

"So on a whim, we've taken this classic treat as inspiration and whipped up a batch of our own, with an added white chocolate twist."

Brimming with puffed rice, nougat and childhood memories. One batch only, in store Monday.

Posted by Whittaker's Chocolate Lovers on Wednesday, 14 August 2019

Whittaker's shared the news on Facebook this morning, reeling in thousands of reactions and messages from potential customers.

"I am too scared to try it incase its delicious and then I won't be able to buy it again," one person wrote.

"Why oh why do I live so far away from this bar of chocolate?", said one woman. Another agreed, "You need to start exporting to the UK, looks amazing."

"Looks like this new block of chocolate isn't even going to gather one speck of dust on the shelf," said another person.

In March, Whittaker's announced it would increase its prices in a bid to compete with the rising costs of production.

The Wellington-based manufacturer said after exploring other options it was left with no other choice.

"We wanted you to be first to know that from Monday we sadly have to raise our prices. Why? Because our costs have been steadily rising," Whittaker's said on March 28.

"The good news is that we will not be changing our block size or cutting corners on quality. And rest assured we will continue to make our chocolate right here in Porirua, New Zealand."

The move followed Cadbury's, which announced in February its chocolate block sizes would be decreasing in size by 10 per cent.