If you think package sizes are shrinking, you are absolutely right, and it has been dubbed “Shrinkflation.”
Seems we are all suffering from the rising cost of everything, including companies and manufacturers. It’s the companies’ response that concerns me.
As companies grapple with rising costs, manufacturers are quietly shrinking packaging without lowering prices. It’s not a new practice, but in my mind it’s a sneaky business.
Everything from toilet paper and Kleenex, to chips have been slowly shrinking.
Chobani yogurts have shrunk from 150 ounces to 4.5, a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues in the U.S.; a few months ago it had 65.
I noticed this trend in both Canada and the U.S., as I travelled recently. I noticed the difference when I bought a box a cereal.
I also noticed it again when I bought a bottle of Gatorade, it was definitely smaller, as it went from 32 ounce bottles to 28 ounce ones.
The list goes on and on for examples.
They try to repackage items in smaller, but brighter packaging, hoping you won’t notice the difference. Well, I do.
When every dollar counts, I’ve noticed, and I think it’s a crappy practice. It catches all of us in the pocketbook when we least can afford it. I have talked with others while shopping, and it seems many have noticed the trend and are not happy about it either. For some, it has changed their shopping habits, looking for deals and buying in bulk instead.
It is the outright sneaky ways and how subtlly some companies are downsizing that makes me furious. Like putting 5 granola bars in a box instead of 6, or making the “bubble” on the bottom of of an orange juice container bigger so it has less juice.
Those who already suffer from food insecurity should not be paying the price for companies profit line.
It’s an age old argument, I’m sure, but right now, prices are keeping people from buying basic necessities. My husband and I both work full time and are feeling the pinch, and making adjustments to what we buy.
When I see something that is at the same price, say like Oasis orange juice, used to be 1.65 litres and is now 1.5 litres, I see red, and my wallet says “skip it.”
I would think that tracking food inflation rates in Canada would be askew, underestimating the real rate of inflation rate with “shrinkflation” considered in.
The other point in all of this mess is the fact that once inflation comes down, they are not going to increase the size of packaging, unless they increase the price. I hate these chase your tail around in circles scenarios. We always lose.
To fight back, or just to save a buck, many folks have taken to creative couponing, and there are even on-line sites with great hacks on how to shop and save.
I’m definitely becoming more creative in the spending of my precious dollars, due to inflation and “shrinkflation,” and I’ve grown more foods and canned more this year than I have in the past.
If you’ve got some creative ways to save and would like to share, let me know!