Shrinkflation - examples?

[Mcr Warrior]

Can currently be got for £1 for 9 bars at Sainsbury's, if KitKat two finger bars are your thing.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Cadbury's are at it again....

The supermarkets are full of "NEW!" 180g bars of Dairy Milk and all that.

Meanwhile, the 200g bars are nowhere to be seen. The 180g is, of course, at the price of the 200g bars....

This has happened within the past two weeks.

 

[LucyP]

And they will justify it as part of the government/Jamie Oliver's sugar tax/healthy eating plan, and when you look at a lot of people, a 20 gram drop isn't a bad idea.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

And they will justify it as part of the government/Jamie Oliver's sugar tax/healthy eating plan, and when you look at a lot of people, a 20 gram drop isn't a bad idea.

Well if it's like crisps, a 25g multi-pack bag is not enough, so you eat two. Thus 50g instead of the old size bag of 40g.

A 180g (ex 200g) chocolate bar is quite a size anyway, so you just get fewer goes at it before it is all gone. Then you start the next one sooner. If you need that chocolate fix....

As an aside, inflation not shrinkflation, 110g of Bournville Chocolate Buttons £1 a fortnight ago, £1.25 last week. As I said previously, I would prefer the price of things to increase (if it has to at all) rather than the pack size shrink.

Whilst on the case of Cadburys, I notice that their brunch bars are now boxes of 5 x 32g instead of 6 x 32g.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Whilst on the case of Cadburys, I notice that their brunch bars are now boxes of 5 x 32g instead of 6 x 32g.

Has the price changed? If it's still the same, say £1 for five bars when previously you got six, then that seems to be yet another example of 'shrinkflation'.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Has the price changed? If it's still the same, say £1 for five bars when previously you got six, then that seems to be yet another example of 'shrinkflation'.

Difficult to tell. I buy them infrequently. I bought them last week because a new Bournville version has been produced.
I bought the previous 6 x 32g version on offer at £1, the full price advertised as being £1.99 back in 2017.
5 x 32g for £1 is therefore a massive reduction from 33.16p each to 20p each. I suspect the previous 'full' price was inflated to make the offer seem better!

 

[Butts]

Cadbury's are at it again....

The supermarkets are full of "NEW!" 180g bars of Dairy Milk and all that.

Meanwhile, the 200g bars are nowhere to be seen. The 180g is, of course, at the price of the 200g bars....

This has happened within the past two weeks.

The equivalent in "old money" would have been 8ozs or 227g when they first switched over

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A 180g (ex 200g) chocolate bar is quite a size anyway, so you just get fewer goes at it before it is all gone. Then you start the next one sooner. If you need that chocolate fix....

That's the point... I have one row off it every day mid afternoon at work.

The row is now shorter ( i.e. the whole bar is narrower ) so I'm probably going to be having one row plus one chunk when my last 200g bars are used up. Therefore yes, I will be getting through them quicker - it would have been preferable if Cadbury had been honest and just put the price up.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2022 ==

The equivalent in "old money" would have been 8ozs or 227g when they first switched over

The ounces mean nothing to me... but before the bars were previously shrunk to 200g, I'm sure they were 250g, not 227g...?

 

[Butts]

That's the point... I have one row off it every day mid afternoon at work.

The row is now shorter ( i.e. the whole bar is narrower ) so I'm probably going to be having one row plus one chunk when my last 200g bars are used up. Therefore yes, I will be getting through them quicker - it would have been preferable if Cadbury had been honest and just put the price up.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2022 ==


The ounces mean nothing to me... but before the bars were previously shrunk to 200g, I'm sure they were 250g, not 227g...?

Don't you remember when Cans of Coke were 12 1/2 Fluid Ounces rather than 330ml ?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Moral: don’t use shampoo. I haven’t used it for years for various reasons, including ethical and environmental ones, and my hair remains as healthy as ever.

Sorry for the diversion, but I recently saw a documentary that explained how if you've been subjected to a large dose of radiation you should avoid using hair conditioner, as it apparently binds the radiation to your hair in some way that's beyond my pay grade. As far as I know I haven't been anywhere radioactive, but I can't help but shudder a little when I think about it.

 

[Ediswan]

Sorry for the diversion, but I recently saw a documentary that explained how if you've been subjected to a large dose of radiation you should avoid using hair conditioner, as it apparently binds the radiation to your hair in some way that's beyond my pay grade. As far as I know I haven't been anywhere radioactive, but I can't help but shudder a little when I think about it.

This seems to be close to true, with the significant variation that it refers to contamination with radioactive material.
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/selfdecon_wash.htm

Wash your hair with shampoo or soap. Do not use conditioner because it will cause radioactive material to stick to your hair.

 

[Cowley]

This seems to be close to true, with the significant variation that it refers to contamination with radioactive material.
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/selfdecon_wash.htm

That is interesting actually, but we’d probably be best to leave it there.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Don't you remember when Cans of Coke were 12 1/2 Fluid Ounces rather than 330ml ?

Errr... no, and I don't drink that stuff anyway!

 

[Mojo]

Is there a portmanteau like shrinkflation but where both the product size and the price increases, but out of kilter with each other? I’ve noticed it in a handful of products lately, for instance:

Last year plug trays in Wilko were 3 for £1 (33.3p each), this year you get 5 but it’s now £2 (40p each).

 

[GusB]

Is there a portmanteau like shrinkflation but where both the product size and the price increases, but out of kilter with each other? I’ve noticed it in a handful of products lately, for instance:

Last year plug trays in Wilko were 3 for £1 (33.3p each), this year you get 5 but it’s now £2 (40p each).

Isn't that still technically shrinkflation? You're getting less per £1 than you did last year.

 

[py_megapixel]

Isn't that still technically shrinkflation? You're getting less per £1 than you did last year.

Not according to the OP, which defines it as "where pack sizes of items shrink in size or quantity, yet the selling price remains the same or even increases". Mojo was talking about pack sizes increasing.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Think I'd categorise this latest example as simply an increase in the unit price of each item in the multi pack, although not sure why Wilko didn't just increase the price of the 3 item multi-packs from £1.00 to say £1.20.

Always a tad annoying if you have to purchase additional quantities of a hardware/gardening product bundled up in a multi pack that you might not ever then actually use.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Always a tad annoying if you have to purchase additional quantities of a hardware/gardening product bundled up in a multi pack that you might not ever then actually use.

I think that is probably the point. You buy more than you need and in doing so give the retailer more money, in the example given £2 turnover for Wilkinsons instead of £1. But I could just be cynical and they have analysed customer trends and held focus groups and, in fact, people generally need 5.

Is there a portmanteau like shrinkflation but where both the product size and the price increases, but out of kilter with each other? I’ve noticed it in a handful of products lately, for instance:

Last year plug trays in Wilko were 3 for £1 (33.3p each), this year you get 5 but it’s now £2 (40p each).

I don't know what the official term would be but with RailUKforums leading the pack, can we start 'stretchflation' or 'growthflation'?
Perhaps the manufacturers / retailers have realised that people have spotted their clever tricks with shrinkflation and this is their new way of transferring your cash to their pockets hopefully without you realising the unit price has increased.

 

[3rd rail land]

I don't know what the official term would be but with RailUKforums leading the pack, can we start 'stretchflation' or 'growthflation'?
Perhaps the manufacturers / retailers have realised that people have spotted their clever tricks with shrinkflation and this is their new way of transferring your cash to their pockets hopefully without you realising the unit price has increased.

Aren't retailers required to display the price per unit as well as the price for the entire multipack?

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Aren't retailers required to display the price per unit as well as the price for the entire multipack?

I think they are, or something very similar as in price per gramme/kilogram. Price per unit is deceptive because a pack of four (25p per item) is more expensive than a pack of two (25p per item) if those in the two pack are larger!

However, the unit price is often in smaller print on the shelf-edge label. Sometimes one product will be in pence per 100g and a comparable adjacent product in £ per kg. Not a difficult mental sum but it stops instant comparison.

More importantly there is no requirement to say what any previous price was.

How many people take note of the price of the goods they buy - as in per item on the shopping receipt? I suggest not a majority or even close to it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Mar 2022 ==

Cadbury's are at it again....

The supermarkets are full of "NEW!" 180g bars of Dairy Milk and all that.

Meanwhile, the 200g bars are nowhere to be seen. The 180g is, of course, at the price of the 200g bars....

This has happened within the past two weeks.

And today the BBC catches up with this news! On the website and just on Radio 6 news bulletin. Just the two full weeks behind the RailUKforums trendsetters!

The article refers to the previous adjustments to this bar size being back in 2012.

Cadbury shrinks size of Dairy Milk sharing bar

Cadbury shrinks size of Dairy Milk sharing bar​

Cadbury has shrunk the size of its Dairy Milk sharing bars by 10%, but will not reduce the price for customers.
Parent company Mondelez blamed costs associated with the production of its chocolate spiking, as it reduced the bars' size from 200g to 180g.
They are still typically being sold at £2 despite the downsize.
US firm Mondelez said the move was the first for that size of Dairy Milk bar in a decade.
In 2020, the company was accused of "shrinkflation" - reducing the size of a product while keeping the price the same to boost profits.
At the time, Cadbury chocolate bars sold in multipacks, including popular treats like Crunchies, Twirls and Wispas, were reduced in size to reduce their calorie count, Mondelez said.

Rising costs​

The latest move comes as the cost of food is increasing, placing further pressure on UK households during the cost of living crisis.
Last week, the rate of inflation (which tracks how the cost of living changes over time) hit a fresh 30-year-high of 6.2% for the year to February.
A Mondelez spokesperson said: "We're facing the same challenges that so many other food companies have already reported when it comes to significantly increased production costs - whether it's ingredients, energy or packaging - and rising inflation.
"This means that our products are much more expensive to make.
"We understand that consumers are faced with rising costs too, which is why we look to absorb costs wherever we can, but, in this difficult environment, we've had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our medium Cadbury Dairy Milk bars for the first time since 2012, so that we can keep them competitive and ensure the great taste and quality our fans enjoy."

Wonka warning​

Separately, the UK's food standards watchdog warned of the sale of counterfeit "Wonka" chocolate bars on Monday.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the fake products were being sold online and in shops across the UK and might not be safe to eat.
It said any Wonka-branded chocolate which does not feature the "Ferrero" or "Ferrara Candy Company" trademarks on the label was likely to be fake.
Some had been found to contain allergens not listed on the label.
The warning comes after a sharp increase in reports of counterfeit chocolate bars on sale over the past year.
The agency said there was a possibility the fake bars were being produced or repackaged by unregistered businesses and individuals who could be breaking food hygiene, labelling and traceability laws.
Tina Potter, Head of Incidents at the FSA, said: "With Easter less than a month away, it is more important than ever that parents and grandparents are aware of the risks that these bogus chocolate bars could pose to their children, particularly those living with a food allergy or intolerance.
"If you have bought these knock-off bars, do not eat them or give them to friends and family."
The FSA said it was continuing to investigate further reports with support from local authorities.
The Wonka brand was sold by Swiss food giant Nestle to Ferrero Group in 2018, alongside the rest of its US sweets and chocolate business.
It is not the first time the brand has been targeted by fraudsters.
In 2013 fake Wonka chocolate bars containing bogus "golden tickets" were seized by trading standards officers in Suffolk.
The product is based on Road Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has also inspired two film adaptations. In the book, children who found golden tickets in the bars won a trip to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

 

[Lloyds siding]

I don't touch them now but Mars bars are tiddly now compared to how I remember them (unless at the point I remember them I was very small, too, so they seemed bigger!)

Mars bars subtly change in weight as inflation affects the cost of the ingredients. This means that they are a very stable unit of currency, economists have made use of this to price check more expensive items over time. For example a small car costs 20,000 Mars bars...and has done so for the last 70 years....

The Mars Bar Unit of Account – Letters Remain

www.lonegunman.co.uk

This means that periodically a 'new' unit of currency is necessary. Periodically Mars bars are repackaged and repriced...you then see advertising for the 'new' bigger Mars bar, which is more expensive, but not by too much. It affects its reliablity as a unit of currency, but less than the swings in other units of account.

 

[Dai Corner]

Mars bars subtly change in weight as inflation affects the cost of the ingredients. This means that they are a very stable unit of currency, economists have made use of this to price check more expensive items over time. For example a small car costs 20,000 Mars bars...and has done so for the last 70 years....

The Mars Bar Unit of Account – Letters Remain

www.lonegunman.co.uk

This means that periodically a 'new' unit of currency is necessary. Periodically Mars bars are repackaged and repriced...you then see advertising for the 'new' bigger Mars bar, which is more expensive, but not by too much. It affects its reliablity as a unit of currency, but less than the swings in other units of account.

Yes, but a 2022 car is a better product than a 1952 one in all respects; faster, safer, more comfortable etc etc whereas a Mars bar hasn't changed.

 

[Lloyds siding]

Yes, but a 2022 car is a better product than a 1952 one in all respects; faster, safer, more comfortable etc etc whereas a Mars bar hasn't changed.

Which means that small cars are now better 'value', because the manufacturers no longer offer cars without reversing lights, indicators, crash zones, radios, anti-lock braking. However it represents the 'minimum' that is offered for those for which this is the 'maximum' they can afford.

 

[Mojo]

I don't know what the official term would be but with RailUKforums leading the pack, can we start 'stretchflation' or 'growthflation'?
Perhaps the manufacturers / retailers have realised that people have spotted their clever tricks with shrinkflation and this is their new way of transferring your cash to their pockets hopefully without you realising the unit price has increased.

Another example of this I noticed this morning when I went to Lidl’s. W5 dishwasher tablets with the water soluable film; last year these were sold in boxes of 40 for £2.99, however now they seem to be discontinuing this size with them being sold as a box of 50 for £3.95.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Another example of this I noticed this morning when I went to Lidl’s. W5 dishwasher tablets with the water soluable film; last year these were sold in boxes of 40 for £2.99, however now they seem to be discontinuing this size with them being sold as a box of 50 for £3.95.

Which is a 5.69% increase in price. Not bad considering!

 

[Mojo]

Another example of this I noticed this morning when I went to Lidl’s. W5 dishwasher tablets with the water soluable film; last year these were sold in boxes of 40 for £2.99, however now they seem to be discontinuing this size with them being sold as a box of 50 for £3.95.

Got tricked in Sainsburys for another example of this last week.

J James bacon used to be sold in packs of 200g advertised as 8 rashers, priced at 83p. Now it's 300g with an unspecified number of rashers, priced at £1.25. The shelf edge sticker made no mention of this pack change, which admittedly is hardly anything of a change per kg, but given that you can't exactly split bacon like you could for instance mince or stewing steak, it's a big increase on the cost of a weekly bacon sandwich!

Additionally, unfortunately for me I had a bonus Nectar offer which I missed out on!

 

[johnnychips]

Got tricked in Sainsburys for another example of this last week.

J James bacon used to be sold in packs of 200g advertised as 8 rashers, priced at 83p. Now it's 300g with an unspecified number of rashers, priced at £1.25. The shelf edge sticker made no mention of this pack change, which admittedly is hardly anything of a change per kg, but given that you can't exactly split bacon like you could for instance mince or stewing steak, it's a big increase on the cost of a weekly bacon sandwich!

Additionally, unfortunately for me I had a bonus Nectar offer which I missed out on!

It is actually virtually the same price per gram (0.41p). As bacon doesn’t go off that quickly, I suppose it depends how many rashers you put in your sandwich, before the product becomes inedible. Can you freeze bacon?

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Can you freeze bacon?

Yes.

 

[peri]

I find that I have to freeze bacon as soon as I open the packet otherwise it goes straight through (is that TMI?!)

 

[Mojo]

It is actually virtually the same price per gram (0.41p). As bacon doesn’t go off that quickly, I suppose it depends how many rashers you put in your sandwich, before the product becomes inedible. Can you freeze bacon?

Yes and I did end up freezing half the packet; however as it is only possible to cut bacon one way, and the rashers are the same size it wasn’t as good as usual where we normally use half the pack, as indeed there was a lot more bare bread.

It’s not like mince or stewing steak where it doesn’t really matter, Bacon rashers aren’t as easy to divide up!