Shoppers win Flora taste fight: Margarine performs embarrassing U-turn after customers complained about new taste Many shoppers said the new taste of lower fat Flora was 'disgusting' It cost the brand owner £29 million to create the new formula Flora margarine has made an embarrassing U-turn after a consumer backlash by shoppers who launched campaigns protesting at a change in the taste of their favourite spread. Brand owner Unilever is bringing back the old flavour 17 months after spending £29 million on a reformulation aimed at making the product healthier and tastier. But the new recipe sparked a surge of complaints from shoppers who took to internet forums to voice their dislike of the relaunched version of the margarine. Shoppers' favourite: Consumers seemed to shop with their feet as value sales of Flora spreads fell 12 per cent since the classic recipe was changed Many said the new taste was "disgusting" and threatened to stop buying it. Despite the protests and a slump in sales, Unilever continued to defend the new recipe insisting that consumer research showed that shoppers preferred it. But in a report headlined "Unilever returns to Original Flora after £29m revamp flops." trade magazine The Grocer reported yesterday that this week the brand owner finally relented and announced an embarrassing U-turn. The magazine says that in the past year, value sales of Flora spreads have fallen 12.4per cent to £188.8 million while volume sales have fallen 9.6per cent to 58.8 million kg. It says the launch of Lurpak Lightest by Arla in January last year could also have had an impact on sales. Healthier: The new recipe with less fat has now been abandoned as consumers did not like the flavour Patty Essick, Unilever brand building director for spreads in the UK, told The Grocer: 'We have been listening to our consumers" feedback and as a result we have taken the decision to return to the original Flora taste.' New packs of the Flora Original spread going on shelves now have the slogan Back to the Taste You Love. Unilever said a survey of 1,800 consumers had shown that nearly 70 per cent of Flora Original buyers would welcome the return of the original flavour. Original taste Flora is being rolled out to stores this month with an unchanged selling price. Dairy Crest faced similar protests after changing its recipe for Clover spread last year. The company 'reformulated' the margarine to reduce its fat content. But angry shoppers complained about the new taste. Rival: Lurpak's Lightest could also have knocked Flora's sales as it launched in January Shoppers have made similar protests in the past about HP Sauce and Twinings Earl Grey changing their taste. Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer said: 'Consumer goods manufacturers know they alter a recipe at their peril.' So how will history view Unilever's decision first to reformulate Flora and, now, its embarrassing U-turn, in which the taste of the original recipe will be recreated? Unilever has done its best to put a positive spin on the reversal, claiming it was "listening to our consumers" feedback" although whether it was the angry posts on various website forums (including thegrocer.co.uk) or the 12.4per cent decline in value sales is moot. The obvious question here is: why didn't Unilever listen to consumers in the first place?