I recently pulled out an old recipe, and noticed that all of the canned goods it called for came in 16 ounce cans. However, now the cans on the store shelf are 14.5 ounces. That's just one example of shrinkflation--when the price of items stays the same, but the amount you get goes down.
The practice has been going on for years, but last year it seemed to accelerate.
- A couple of weeks ago I was buying ice cream for a party. All of the standard brands used to come in half-gallon containers. Now those containers are 1.5 quarts. One container wasn't enough for my event, so I had to buy two and have a lot left over.
- For the sake of my waistline I try not to buy potato chips, but every once in a while a bag jumps into my cart. The bags used to be 16 ounces. Now they're 12.
- When I still had children living at home I was forever buying stacks of Aldi frozen pizzas. Back then they were 16 ounces. Now, depending on the style they're somewhere between an ounce and two ounces less.
- The off-brand rolls of toilet paper we use now have incrementally fewer sheets per roll. We don't use paper towels, but I've heard from friends that their rolls are also smaller.
What about you? Have you come across any favorite products that have shrunk? Please share.
" so I had to buy two and have a lot left over." Tell me where you live and your left over ice cream problem will be instantly solved. BTW, I've never understood the term leftover ice cream.
ReplyDeleteAs I was composing this I thought 'no one reads carefully enough that I need to include the detail that the ice cream was purchased for a party at work' and left it out. Obviously I was wrong :-)
DeleteIt's a trick to make people think the price is not going up so much.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Sneaky, isn't it?
DeleteYou are right. One word, bacon. That surprised me. I was buying enough for us and the kids. Not enough in the package!
ReplyDelete(ツ) from Jenn Jilks , ON, Canada!
Yes! And the price for the smaller package has gone up too.
DeleteCooking for the homeless I use a large bag of frozen mince. i drain off the fat and until November it wasn't that much. Now it's nearly half a pint of sludge. Very noticeable.
ReplyDeleteYuck!
DeleteIt's not only size and quantity. Quality has also declined in various ways.
ReplyDeleteYour comment would seem to jive with Liz's
DeleteYou are so right, everything is noticeably smaller.
ReplyDeleteThe chip bags are not just smaller, the small ones are really expensive. Which is good, I shouldn't buy them. Sometimes I do though when I have a salt craving.
ReplyDeleteI haven't noticed the Aldi brand chips going up in price too much but I'll keep an eye out for it.
DeleteI grabbed a box of chocolate covered cherries during the holidays and wondered aloud how the price had not seemed to go up. When I got home and opened the box that used to hold 20. it only had 10! They continue to use the same pakaging with 10 openings per tray and 2 trays per box. But they only fill half the openings!
ReplyDeleteThat's awful!
DeleteWe were just talking about this, not only is it a problem in recipes, but we actually just saw that as $5 box of cereal has shrunk to 11.5 oz. For the men in our house, that's basically 2 bowls.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I'm sad that I'm just feeding two people now.
Delete:)
DeleteIt just keeps getting worse and worse! Very frustrating when you have to buy two of something and have a lot left over! Except for ice cream of course!
ReplyDeleteHow I wish the last set of ice cream had been for my house! Sadly, it was for work.
DeleteThe snack crackers used to be 2
ReplyDelete3ish ounce packages, now they're like 1.7ish. But we're supposed to be too stupid to notice ;/
You're right that manufacturers think they can pull a fast one.
Delete