Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Miniatures Dispenser Machine

A timeless classic we probably all had as kids is still in production – the Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Miniatures Dispenser Machine.

Yes, it’s the money box that gives something back – chocolate.  Once upon a time, this machine took a penny. Then it went up to 2p and slowly but surely made it to the current price of a piece of chocolate, which is 10p. I’ll be honest, that seems a bit pricey for a small miniature in light of the price of a box of Celebrations these days. But you aren’t actually buying any chocolate.

No, this machine is designed to help you save up, with the small Cadbury’s treat just there to soften the blow when you part with your hard-earned cash. And let’s be honest, you aren’t really parting with it. Just a click and you have access to all that lovely cash.

How much? Well, if you empty the entire machine of its chocolate supplies, the Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Miniatures Dispenser will be holding £8. If you have done the maths you will work out that it holds up to 80 of the little blocks, which is, coincidentally, the number of mini bars that come with this machine.

Now, the mixed news on the machine’s availability. This one comes and goes from the Cadbury’s store quite often, so it’s a case of looking out for it on there. They tend to be more plentiful in the run-up to Christmas for obvious reasons and when they were last in stock at the Cadbury’s gift site, the 25cm tall machine was selling for £13 complete with the 80 mini chocolate bars.

But it does go out of stock for long periods and as I write, the mini bars of chocolate are hard to find too. There is one retailer selling replacement bars for the machine that aren’t Cadbury’s that will at least keep your machine happy, if not your taste buds. Actually, the latter might not be true – I haven’t tried the replacement chocolate.

Note that if you can’t get the machines directly from Cadbury, you can pick up a mix of modern and vintage machines via eBay.

Find out more at the Cadbury website