NESTLE'S Milkybar is becoming a lot milkier as part of the York confectionery firm's drive to cut the amount of sugar in its products.

The amount of milk in the family favourite white chocolate brand, which is made at the company's factory in Haxby Road, York, has increased from 26 per cent to 37.5 per cent.

A spokeswoman said this made milk the brand’s number one ingredient, and newly designed packs, highlighting ‘Milk is now our No.1 ingredient’ would feature across the full Milkybar range of bars, blocks, buttons and sharing bags, which were replacing the old products from this month.

She said the change had allowed Nestlé to remove some sugar.

"The new Milkybar recipe will take out almost 350 tonnes of sugar and 130 million calories from UK public consumption, which is part of Nestlé UK and Ireland’s pledge to remove 10 per cent of sugar from across its total confectionery portfolio by 2018," she said.

"The new products will remain free from artificial flavours, colours, preservatives and sweeteners."

Dame Fiona Kendrick, chairman and chief executive of Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: “We want to make our products the best they can be for our consumers.

"We’ll take every opportunity to innovate and re-formulate to improve our products but this can never be to the detriment of taste.

"We have used our strength in research and innovation to develop a great recipe that replaces some sugar with more of the existing, natural ingredient that people know and love.

"We have added more milk to the recipe, which has been at the heart of Milkybar ever since it was launched in 1936.”

The spokeswoman said the move followed the recent launch of the new KitKat ‘Extra Milk and Cocoa’ which increased the percentage of milk by 20 per cent and cocoa by 13 per cent.

"In addition last month, Nestlé’s Rowntree’s brand unveiled brand new 30 per cent less sugar versions of two of its best-selling products; Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles and Rowntree’s Randoms which have received overwhelmingly positive consumer feedback.

"These innovations are all part of a number of Nestlé’s initiatives to improve its products through a range of methods and make incremental sugar reductions in different ways that, when added up, are a positive step overall to removing sugar from the nation’s diet while maintaining the taste."