Shrinkflation - examples?

[birchesgreen]

Have Pukka pies shrunk in size? I had one for the first time in ages last night and it seemed smaller than before, still tasted good though!

 

[Baxenden Bank]

There's nothing dishonest in that, - it's the buyers responsibility to check the packaging, and naïve to expect manufacturers to do more than that. Goods, and particularly the junk food products that have been mentioned in this thread are sold in packaging sizes specifically to target certain price points. The safeguard is that the weight/volume of food products must be clearly marked on the packaging according to the law, for the benfit of the purchaser. Those that don't bother to check before they buy will not be getting what they assumed, but giving it a daft name like 'shrinkflation' doesn't mean anything and doesn't make it dishonest. Buyer beware!

Pointing out the equivalent practice in rail fares is precisely the point, - by altering the fare structures, passengers will be getting less flexibility but paying more, and all the time the official line is that there will be benefits in simpler ticketing. That is more dishonest than changing packet sizes yet maintaining the same price - the weight/volume of food products must be clearly marked on the packaging according to the law. There is no such requirement for rail ticketing, which is in itself more complex and has more opportunities for buyers to not realise the impact of the change on travellers.

I think you have a point.

The issue is where do you draw the line between 'protecting the consumer' and 'wrapping them in cotton wool'. Assuming of course that consumers deserve any level of protection! At some point, and everyone will have a different trigger point, people have to take some responsibility for their choices. That perhaps includes noting that the price of an item is the same as last week but you get 9 instead of 10 (or whatever) in a pack.

There are some dubious practices out there though, such as quoting one brand (or pack size) in cost per ml, another in cost per g and a third in cost per unit (ie a pack of four/four). Similarly gross / drained weight eg for tinned tuna. Taking a pocket calculator out and standing in the aisle doing comparisons I would suggest is a rather specialist activity even assuming sufficient arithmetic skills. If everything came in nice round weight multiples, and competing brands had the same pack size comparisons would be simpler but you remove that 'competitive edge' achieved by offering 73g for 74p instead of your competitors 76g for 75p.

 

[JD2168]

Walls Magnum boxes, you used to get four in a box, now you get three in a box which causes you to have to purchase two boxes at the same time.

 

[Butts]

Walls Magnum boxes, you used to get four in a box, now you get three in a box which causes you to have to purchase two boxes at the same time.

To add insult to injury I think you will find over time they have shrunk in size individually as well !!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Walls Magnum boxes, you used to get four in a box, now you get three in a box which causes you to have to purchase two boxes at the same time.

To add insult to injury I think you will find over time they have shrunk in size individually as well !!

Possibly 120ml when they first came out, then 110ml, and now 100ml. Three packs of the current size are, for the time being, on offer at Asda at £1.62.

 

[AM9]

I think you have a point.

The issue is where do you draw the line between 'protecting the consumer' and 'wrapping them in cotton wool'. Assuming of course that consumers deserve any level of protection! At some point, and everyone will have a different trigger point, people have to take some responsibility for their choices. That perhaps includes noting that the price of an item is the same as last week but you get 9 instead of 10 (or whatever) in a pack.

There are some dubious practices out there though, such as quoting one brand (or pack size) in cost per ml, another in cost per g and a third in cost per unit (ie a pack of four/four). Similarly gross / drained weight eg for tinned tuna. Taking a pocket calculator out and standing in the aisle doing comparisons I would suggest is a rather specialist activity even assuming sufficient arithmetic skills. If everything came in nice round weight multiples, and competing brands had the same pack size comparisons would be simpler but you remove that 'competitive edge' achieved by offering 73g for 74p instead of your competitors 76g for 75p.

I agree that certain products should have the units used mandated, I.e. volume vs weight. Now everything must be specified in metric units which not only make much more sense the the jumble of imperial measures, it would be easy to divide products into groups for volumetric or mass units which should also be chosen to reduce bulking up weights with water etc..

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 May 2023 ==

Possibly 120ml when they first came out, then 110ml, and now 100ml. Three packs of the current size are, for the time being, on offer at Asda at £1.62.

Why are frozen ice cream products specified by volume anyway, - even if they melt the weight will be substantially the same.

 

[py_megapixel]

Why are frozen ice cream products specified by volume anyway, - even if they melt the weight will be substantially the same.

Perhaps something to do with them being poured into the container as a liquid and then frozen?

 

[Ediswan]

Why are frozen ice cream products specified by volume anyway, - even if they melt the weight will be substantially the same.

If they quoted the weight, it would be easier to spot the brands that include more air, which bulks up the volume at minimal cost.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I agree that certain products should have the units used mandated, I.e. volume vs weight. Now everything must be specified in metric units which not only make much more sense the the jumble of imperial measures, it would be easy to divide products into groups for volumetric or mass units which should also be chosen to reduce bulking up weights with water etc..

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 May 2023 ==


Why are frozen ice cream products specified by volume anyway, - even if they melt the weight will be substantially the same.

Haagen Dazs 460ml / 400g for at least three varieties
Tesco Finest 480ml / 311g

 

[david1212]

Generally the reduction of the product is greater in proportion to the packaging. Take my toothpaste example of 75ml instead of 100ml but neither the carboard for the box or the plastic for the tube is reduced by 25% nor are the overheads. Hence paying e.g. £1.25 for 100ml would be better value than £1 for 75ml plus less environmentally unfriendly.

Why are frozen ice cream products specified by volume anyway, - even if they melt the weight will be substantially the same.

If they quoted the weight, it would be easier to spot the brands that include more air, which bulks up the volume at minimal cost.

Haagen Dazs 460ml / 400g for at least three varieties
Tesco Finest 480ml / 311g

Interesting ..... 'Mr Whippy' aside I had never thought about ice cream being bulked up with air.

 

[Ediswan]

Interesting ..... 'Mr Whippy' aside I had never thought about ice cream being bulked up with air.

For clarity, ice cream does need to contain some air. The dodgy practice is finding ways to disguise the addition of more air than is needed.

This seems to be a reasonable discussion:
https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/air-in-ice-cream/

Air is the invisible ingredient in ice cream. And as such, it's often overlooked. But it's hugely important...

The main role of air is to make ice cream soft. And without it our ice cream would be a solid block, more like a lolly or popsicle. Certainly nothing we'd call ice cream.

 

[AM9]

For clarity, ice cream does need to contain some air. The dodgy practice is finding ways to disguise the addition of more air than is needed.

This seems to be a reasonable discussion:
https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/air-in-ice-cream/

But as that interesting linked article says: "Since air is free and ice cream is sold by volume rather than weight, economy ice creams tend to contain lots of air. Whereas premium ice creams will have less air, both to distinguish them from the economy products and to create a luxurious, creamy mouth-feel."
Ice cream as a mass market item sold by volume, which vendors have exploited to the extent that modern products have been pumped up to increase profit. This is as fake as commodity chocolate which removes the real ingredient (cocoa solids) and replaces it with sugar, or lower market sausages/burgers etc., which pad out the meat that they claim to be with cheap industrial rusk.
The rot started setting in during the '60s when mobile ice cream vendors had on-line 'ice-cream' machines that produced the Mr Whippy type of confection that was amazingly cheap to make. Because of the profit that there was, vendors carrying blocks (or 'bricks' as they were called) found it cheaper to invest in the machinery. The benefits that persuaded many to move to highly aerated ice cream was that it was softer to eat (because it had far less thermal mass), and of course, before long, real ice cream was no longer available from street vendors.

 

[Thirteen]

Businesses will always try and find ways to cut costs and increase profits. In the film The Founder, Ray Kroc is losing money because the milkshakes have to use ice cream but then it is suggested he switch to powdered milkshake which would cut the costs dramatically.

 

[philthetube]

If you are not able to tell that ice cream is loaded with air then that must be a good thing as none of the ingredients could be described as healthy.

 

[Stan63]

For clarity, ice cream does need to contain some air. The dodgy practice is finding ways to disguise the addition of more air than is needed.

This seems to be a reasonable discussion:
https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/air-in-ice-cream/

Is that how soft scoop ice cream works? Just fill it with more air.

Stan

 

[dangie]

Polo Mints
How much of the tube volume is a hole through the middle?

Apologies if this has already been mentioned. Only just started reading the thread.

 

[Dai Corner]

Polo Mints
How much of the tube volume is a hole through the middle?

Apologies if this has already been mentioned. Only just started reading the thread.

I'll let you know when I have some Polos, my calipers and my calculator to hand!

I think they're sold by weight rather than by volume though.

 

[dangie]

I'll let you know when I have some Polos, my calipers and my calculator to hand!

I think they're sold by weight rather than by volume though.

Yes but we are often fooled by size. A good portion of the packet is fresh air.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

But as that interesting linked article says: "Since air is free and ice cream is sold by volume rather than weight, economy ice creams tend to contain lots of air. Whereas premium ice creams will have less air, both to distinguish them from the economy products and to create a luxurious, creamy mouth-feel."
Ice cream as a mass market item sold by volume, which vendors have exploited to the extent that modern products have been pumped up to increase profit. This is as fake as commodity chocolate which removes the real ingredient (cocoa solids) and replaces it with sugar, or lower market sausages/burgers etc., which pad out the meat that they claim to be with cheap industrial rusk.
The rot started setting in during the '60s when mobile ice cream vendors had on-line 'ice-cream' machines that produced the Mr Whippy type of confection that was amazingly cheap to make. Because of the profit that there was, vendors carrying blocks (or 'bricks' as they were called) found it cheaper to invest in the machinery. The benefits that persuaded many to move to highly aerated ice cream was that it was softer to eat (because it had far less thermal mass), and of course, before long, real ice cream was no longer available from street vendors.

I refuse, point blank, to 'eat' any Mr Sloppy ice cream. Some vendors of proper ice cream remain.

From the Tesco website:

Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream: £11.20 per litre, 460ml / 400g
Fresh Cream (39%), Condensed Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolk, Vanilla Extract

Tesco Finest Vanilla Ice Cream: £6.20 per litre, 480ml / 311g pack
Whole Milk, Double Cream (Milk) (28%), Demerara Sugar, Dried Skimmed Milk, Pasteurised Egg, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Madagascan Vanilla Extract, Stabiliser (Locust Bean Gum), Madagascan Ground Vanilla Pods.

Tesco Vanilla Ice Cream: £2.60 per litre, 900ml / 432g pack
Reconstituted Skimmed Milk Concentrate, Sugar, Partially Reconstituted Buttermilk Powder (Milk), Coconut Oil, Palm Stearin, Palm Oil, Dextrose, Palm Kernel Oil, Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Flavouring, Stabilisers (Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum), Vanilla Pods, Colours (Algal Carotenes, Beetroot Red, Curcumin).

Ms Mollys Vanilla Ice Cream: £0.70 per litre, 2,000ml / ?g
Reconstituted Skimmed Milk Concentrate, Partially Reconstituted Whey Powder (Milk), Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Palm Stearin, Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Stabilisers (Guar Gum, Sodium Alginate), Flavouring, Colours (Carotenes).

You get what you pay for.

 

[Purple Train]

Monster Munches used to have four toes. Now there are only three.

This is utterly tragical.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Monster Munches used to have four toes. Now there are only three.

This is utterly tragical.

But do you get more feet per pack in return for fewer toes? Has the weight of an individual pack changed without a corresponding change in the price?

 

[AM9]

Monster Munches used to have four toes. Now there are only three.

This is utterly tragical.

That reduces waste on toenails.

 

[route101]

To add insult to injury I think you will find over time they have shrunk in size individually as well !!

Aren't the ones sold individually bigger?

 

[Purple Train]

But do you get more feet per pack in return for fewer toes? Has the weight of an individual pack changed without a corresponding change in the price?

I don't think so - I believe it to be genuine "shrinkflation", but I'll have a look when I can find some packaging. The post may also have been made in a slightly sarcastic manner, so I may not have been thinking about the statistics

 

[davehsug]

Just noticed after buying for a few weeks, that Morrisons' pints of milk have become 500ml cartons.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Just noticed after buying for a few weeks, that Morrisons' pints of milk have become 500ml cartons.

It was announced in February last year that they'd be doing this, and the PR spin was that the new TetraPak packaging would use less plastic. Not to mention 12% less milk, which, for some reason, they didn't emphasise quite as much.

 

[Amos]

Also in the guise of environmentalism,Tesco have “removed the plastic packaging from our onions”.They used to sell bags of 11 or 12 small onions for 95p,but are now selling single larger ones for 20 pence each.

 

[jon0844]

Cadbury's was giving out free samples of its fruit and nut trail mix in Tesco today. 100g for £2 (£1.50 for Clubcard users) and it's basically the fruit and nut without the chocolate, and a few dabs of chocolate thrown in.

Make the pack large and full of air and you've now got something about twice the price of a fruit and nut chocolate bar and with loads less chocolate!!

Maybe soon we'll see pizzas without a base - just a box with some grated cheese, a tomato and some pepperoni slices.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Just noticed after buying for a few weeks, that Morrisons' pints of milk have become 500ml cartons.

It was announced in February last year that they'd be doing this, and the PR spin was that the new TetraPak packaging would use less plastic. Not to mention 12% less milk, which, for some reason, they didn't emphasise quite as much.

I'll take a wild guess, the price didn't decrease by 12%. Another reason to avoid Morrisons!

Milk used to come in TetraPak, where you had to fold out the top to form a 'V' to pour. What was the reason for changing to plastic. Let's take another wild guess, that was for environmental reasons to reduce waxy-card waste?

 

[gazthomas]

Radox shower gel. Down from 250ml to 225ml and the useful hook that came with the bottle has also gone