Community Chat

[Foxxee]

Shrinkflation hits the nation AGAIN: Honey Bunches of Oats slashes amount of cereal in boxes by 17% and Angel Soft toilet paper cuts sheets from 425 in a roll to 320.

Daily Mail 

"Manufacturers have continued to lessen portion sizes to keep up with record inflation in the US, it has been revealed - a recently surfaced phenomenon that's been dubbed by experts as 'shrinkflation.'

Notable brands to 'shrinkflate' their products in recent months as the American dollar continues to lessen in value include Charmin, Bounty, and Gatorade, which have all been downsized in recent months but have retained their previous prices.

Now, as bottom lines continue to tighten, more companies are starting to follow suit - with a slew of toiletries, a popular breakfast cereal, and the country's leading brand of instant coffee being some of the latest products to fall victim to the practice.

Joining the parade of downsized products is cereal stalwart Honey Bunches of Oats, which has seen the weight of its standard box, previously 14.5 ounces, lessen to 12 ounces - a reduction of roughly 17 percent.

The 2.5 ounce decrease accounts for roughly two bowls of cereal.

However, only the keenest of shoppers may find themselves aware of that fact, with - apart from the the product's new, labeled net weight and the fact the box is slightly more narrow - the packages are virtually identical.

The price for the product, which varies from store to store and state to state, has largely remained the same.

Another shrinkflation casualty to emerge in recent weeks was instant coffee provider Folger's - whom has faced various lawsuits alleging that it is impossible to get the full number of cups of coffee promised on each canister.

Last month, the company elected to dramatically drop the number of ounces displayed on those canisters - previously 51 ounces, now 43.5 ounces - while keeping the number of cups that it says each package will yield, at 400, the same.

When confronted about the 7.5 ounce reduction per canister last month on social media, which should see a decrease of more than a dozen cups of coffee, the company cited a new, more efficient bean pressing technology as to why the cup count has not been changed.

'We have employed a new, roasting technology that makes the most out of every bean — resulting in lighter-weight coffee grounds that deliver the same taste you love across the same number of brewed cups,' the company wrote on Twitter in response to a customer complaint.

[hckynutjohn]

@Foxxee 

I do not place any blame on manufacturers. For me that blame lies at the feet of those that created it, and that is not Kellogg's/General Mills or other similar businesses. 

The buck is suppose to stop somewhere, but that somewhere seems to be a daily moving target.

hckynut 🇺🇸

[Foxxee]

---

@hckynutjohn wrote:

@Foxxee 

I do not place any blame on manufacturers. For me that blame lies at the feet of those that created it, and that is not Kellogg's/General Mills or other similar businesses. 

The buck is suppose to stop somewhere, but that somewhere seems to be a daily moving target.

hckynut 🇺🇸

---

@hckynutjohn 

Agree to some extent.  I believe some will take advantage of the situation.  

[Tinkrbl44]

Just proof that NO, it's not your imagination .....  

[hckynutjohn]

---

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

Just proof that NO, it's not your imagination .....  

@Tinkrbl44 

Before my wife and I made our pact, I did as much shopping as she did at that time. Wasn't in the 1970's when Mortgage rates were 19%, it was after that, close to Recession, period of time.

I brought my calculator and when purchasing items at the grocery store! I checked ounces and prices. Bigger package did not always equal better price. Since I also cut out coupons, which I used, I bought what was cheaper per ounce. Less in the package, I found another brand, or did not buy it.

This downsizing is nothing new, it has been going on for years, even a few decades, and it had nothing to do with the inflation rate. Just sayin! 

hckynut 🇺🇸

---

[Desertdi]

---

@hckynutjohn wrote:

---

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

Just proof that NO, it's not your imagination .....  

@Tinkrbl44 

Before my wife and I made our pact, I did as much shopping as she did at that time. Wasn't in the 1970's when Mortgage rates were 19%, it was after that, close to Recession, period of time.

I brought my calculator and when purchasing items at the grocery store! I checked ounces and prices. Bigger package did not always equal better price. Since I also cut out coupons, which I used, I bought what was cheaper per ounce. Less in the package, I found another brand, or did not buy it.

This downsizing is nothing new, it has been going on for years, even a few decades, and it had nothing to do with the inflation rate. Just sayin! 

hckynut 🇺🇸

---

---

@hckynutjohn      I was born during WW2.....so I know something about shortages...."coupons" for food, shoes, gasoline, etc.     di

[hckynutjohn]

Hi @Desertdi 

I celebrated my 83rd birthday yesterday. I too was alive during WWII.  Was born and grew up in Public Housing Projects.

My mom didn't own a car/she didn't get coupons for shoes or food. If they were offered(I was too young to know), my mother would never(too proud) take them. She worked 6 days a week, 2 of which were till 8:30pm.

The only thing she got from any entity was qualifying for Public Housing, BUT. If she made more than $23 a week? Out we would go, my 3 older sisters and myself.

hckynut 🇺🇸

[Desertdi]

@hckynutjohn     Happy Belated Birthday!!!

Yeah.....I remember going on foot with my Ma to the grocery store ....each of us dragging a wooden shopping cart.    I actually witnessed women fighting on the grocery store floor over butter, sugar, and meat.     di

[Foxxee]

---

@hckynutjohn wrote:

---

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

Just proof that NO, it's not your imagination .....  

@Tinkrbl44 

Before my wife and I made our pact, I did as much shopping as she did at that time. Wasn't in the 1970's when Mortgage rates were 19%, it was after that, close to Recession, period of time.

I brought my calculator and when purchasing items at the grocery store! I checked ounces and prices. Bigger package did not always equal better price. Since I also cut out coupons, which I used, I bought what was cheaper per ounce. Less in the package, I found another brand, or did not buy it.

This downsizing is nothing new, it has been going on for years, even a few decades, and it had nothing to do with the inflation rate. Just sayin! 

hckynut 🇺🇸

---

---

@hckynutjohn 

Most definitely.  Shop cost per ounce.  

However, these manufacturers are being very deceptive.  Even the article said in most cases no one will notice in the store the packages contain less, are thinner, smaller, or in Folgers, the beans weigh less....but the price is the same.

They fear increasing their prices, keeping the same amount of content and package size, shoppers will look for lower prices, store brands a good possibility.  Store brands are probably deceiving us too, but still they will be lower priced than brand names.  

What all this amounts to is shoppers buying more over time because they run out sooner than expected. 

Not all of us will be deceived, though.  I noticed ice cream packages were smaller when they first downsized.  

[AngelPuppy1]

I believe they think we are too stupid to notice that they are decreasing the amount of product in the boxes, bags, etc.!  For instance, just take a bag of chips or cheese curls or whatever and just hold it up --- most of the bag is empty!  Boxes of things -- they don't make the box smaller because people would say --- hey, they are cutting the amount of product I am getting.  They make the box the same size, but the amount of ingredients inside is nowhwere near what it was.  Oh, yes --- you are really fooling us ---- duh........