Shoppers have been left scratching their heads over Tesco's new rule at one of its stores, limiting customers to purchasing no more than 10 tubs of Roses Chocolate.

Despite the Christmas season being months away, UK supermarkets are already donning a festive look by stocking up on yuletide favourites such as Celebrations and Lindt chocolate Santas. Amid this premature holiday cheer, Tesco has stirred further bewilderment by imposing a cap on Roses Chocolate Tubs purchases.

In a baffling move detailed by a Reddit user, a Tesco outlet displayed a sign stating: "Chocolate tubs MAX 10 per customer."

Accompanying the post, which expressed disbelief with the comment "what happened here bro", was an image showing Roses priced at £6 a tub or a discounted £4.50 with a Clubcard.

The Reddit thread quickly became a hub for speculation among hundreds of commenters pondering the reason behind the restriction. Several users suspected it might be due to opportunists buying the tubs cheaply with a Clubcard and reselling them at inflated prices, reports the Mirror.

Others suggested the chocolates were being bought in bulk to be sold later at corner shops or online through platforms like Amazon.

A theory posted by one savvy individual hinted that companies could be snapping up the chocolate tubs now to distribute as Christmas gifts to clients. Pointed calculations highlighted the potential savings businesses could make - to the tune of £210 per pallet - by purchasing early instead of waiting until Christmas when prices are expected to rise.

One baffled Reddit user spilled the beans: "Tbf people do buy more, the other week someone ordered like 3+ pallets of celebrations and other tubs. Filled a large panel van completely."

A curious member shared their bewildering encounter: "We have that at my Tesco too, limit of 50 though.

"Watched two men come in and buy an entire pallet of celebrations and then do it again the next day and load it all into an enterprise van. When I asked why they need so many they claimed it was for a 'personal charity' and wouldn't tell me which one."

Amid wide speculation, Redditors reckon this cap has been around for "several years" yet there's no peep from Tesco confirming such measures. Mystery shrouds the exact reach of this policy with only select stores limiting the haul of tubs, refuting any notion of a nationwide crackdown.

It turns out that the rules of the shopping game are not the same everywhere, at least in the case of Tesco's purchase policy.

The supermarket told Express.co.uk: "In certain locations, purchase limits on specific items might be enforced to ensure all people can access their needs, and to manage space on the company's Grocery Home Shopping vans."

They clarify that the measures are not due to a national shortage but are implemented to ensure "fairness" for customers during times of increased demand.

Express.co.uk has reached out to Tesco for a statement