Maltesers have been sold as small malt-and-chocolate balls since the 1930s. The Malteser Bunny is a much newer, Easter-only spin on the same brand.
What a Malteser Bunny actually is
It's a hollow milk chocolate figure moulded into a bunny shape, made by Mars using the same milk chocolate recipe as regular Maltesers. Many versions are sold with a small pouch of actual Maltesers included in the packaging, tying the seasonal figure back to the everyday product, but the bunny itself is solid moulded chocolate rather than a shell full of malt balls.
Why it's seasonal and regular Maltesers aren't
- Malteser Bunny — appears in shops roughly from January to Easter Sunday, then is pulled from shelves until the following year.
- Original Maltesers — sold in bags, tubes, and multipacks all year round with no seasonal gap.
This is the standard pattern for Easter confectionery in the UK: brands release a hollow figure format for the few months around Easter, then revert to their standard product range for the rest of the year.
Where it fits in the wider Easter chocolate market
Easter is the second-biggest chocolate occasion in the UK calendar after Christmas, and the Malteser Bunny is Mars's entry into a crowded field of Easter bunnies and eggs. Its selling point against solid-chocolate rivals is the malt flavour running through it, which is also what runs through the rest of our chocolate collection.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a Malteser Bunny and a normal bag of Maltesers?
Regular Maltesers are small malted-milk balls coated in chocolate and sold in bags all year round, while a Malteser Bunny is a hollow milk chocolate Easter figure sold only seasonally, usually with a small pouch of the same malt balls included.
When do Malteser Bunnies go on sale?
Malteser Bunnies are a seasonal Easter product, typically appearing in shops from January through to Easter Sunday and then disappearing from shelves for the rest of the year.
Why did Maltesers make an Easter-specific product?
Easter is one of the biggest chocolate-buying occasions in the UK after Christmas, and Mars extended the Maltesers brand into the hollow-figure format that dominates that season, the same reason most major chocolate brands release their own Easter bunny or egg version.