Why One UK Student Might Have Lost Out On GBP10,000 After Eating A Cadbury Creme Egg

Earlier in 2022, Cadbury decided to channel the spirit of Willy Wonka and initiated a contest where winners could find special Cadbury Creme Eggs hidden across grocery stores in the U.K. and Iceland, per Delish. Anyone who discovers the special eggs, which feature a mix of half white and half milk chocolate, can trade in the uneaten chocolates for up to £10,000.

After discovering that you've unwrapped a winning Cadbury egg, you need to call a hotline printed on the wrapper and resist eating the candy in order to claim the money.

Anyone who doesn't keep up on current candy contests may have missed out on this news and unassumingly eaten one of the winning chocolate eggs. This tragic scenario recently played out on Reddit when a university student, who shared his story anonymously, realized that he ate an egg that looked eerily similar to the half-and-half eggs used for the contest.

Fellow Redditors quickly advised him to search out the foil and winning ticket, but, at this point, the man who ate the potentially expensive candy said, "I don't actually know what else to say other than utter defeat. I think I have officially hit the lowest point in the short 21 years of my life."

This is how it all played out.

The student who potentially unknowingly ate a winning Cadbury Creme Egg quickly picked up media attention. The Mirror noted that, while he may have eaten the candy, he could have saved the wrapper and winning ticket. 

In an even worse turn of luck, he ate the candy when he was out and about — and threw the wrapper away in a public wastebasket. In order to claim the money, you need to send in a picture of you holding the winning egg via email "to prove that you're the rightful owner," per the Mirror.

The international student didn't even realize that his Cadbury egg looked different than normal. LADBible reports that he had never eaten a Cadbury egg before and didn't realize the brown-and-white egg looked out of place.

He only realized his mistake after stumbling upon an advertisement on social media promoting the giveaway and doublechecked his mistake with his girlfriend. The egg, potentially worth about half the student's university tuition, may be long gone, but it has resulted in a great (if heartbreaking) story. 

"It was definitely a great story to tell at a party and many found it hilarious," he said. "It was great knowing that something positive came out of my tragic story; whether it be a laugh or as a way for people to feel better about their day in comparison."