'The craziness continues!' Customer fury as Iceland changes religious symbol to a tick on hot cross buns

Hot cross buns are sold around the religious holiday of Easter and feature a cross as part of their design. This is meant to represent the crucifixion of Jesus, giving a nod to Good Friday.

Research by Iceland suggested a fifth of customers want to ditch the cross and would prefer a 'tick' symbol on their sweet treats instead.

Iceland's David Lennox said: “According to the research, it seems some people want to do away with the cross design and move to a tick instead.

“The results surprised us, but in true British fashion, we’re putting it to the test by trialling ticks on some of our buns.”

However, customers and Christian groups have shared their shock at the trial. Posting on social media, one user said: "The craziness continues.

"I really hope their sales suffer and they return to normalcy soon, but to do this near Easter is frankly bordering on insulting."

Another shopper echoed this fury. They added: "This is just another reason to give Iceland a miss." One more posted on X: "UK retailer Iceland is trialling hot cross buns with a tick, instead of a cross.

"They say they're doing this after research showed a fifth of customers wanted the change. In other words, four fifths DIDN'T want it." Another said: "Hot CROSS buns not Nike tick buns ffs."

Christian groups are also concerned with the change. "Easter is when Christians across the globe remember Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave," Danny Webster of the Evangelical Alliance told the Sun.

He added it would not stop Christians from celebrating the traditional meaning of Easter, stating: "Whatever Iceland put on their buns, Christians will continue to declare the truth of the cross that Jesus is alive.”

Iceland has made the change as part of a trial to find out which customers prefer and said it hopes to gauge feedback before rolling out further changes.

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An Iceland spokesperson told GB News: “We are not replacing or removing the cross from our traditional hot cross buns and they will always be available at our stores nationwide. We are always listening to our customers for feedback on our products and we were surprised that a fifth came back to say they would like to see a version with a tick.”

Supermarket chains will often make changes to traditional hot cross buns, usually experimenting with different flavours.

Hot cross buns and chocolate Easter eggs are popular treats at this time of year and they both have religious meanings.

Chocolate Easter eggs have long been used to represent the empty tomb where Jesus was resurrected three days after he died on the cross.