We continue our never-ending series of stories spotlighting some of the various products that were reduced in size recently, otherwise known as shrinkflation.
| Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Assortment |
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Keri M. who works in a retail store discovered that Hershey’s removed over five ounces of candy from the party size bag of dark chocolate snacks. The bags went from 29 ounces to just 23.9 ounces, but they both were priced at $19.99.
*MOUSE PRINT:
| Quilted Northern Toilet Paper |
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Toilet paper is one of the most frequently downsized product categories. Tom G. discovered that Quilted Northern lopped off 40 sheets from each mega roll, going from 295 to just 255 sheets. In a six-pack, that removes almost a full roll of the newly downsized product.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Three years ago, the mega size went from 328 sheets on a roll to 295.
| Iams Dog Food |
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Dry dog food is another category where the bags keep getting smaller and smaller. Brendan B. recently brought to our attention that Iams reduced their XL bags from 44 pounds to 38.5 — a five-and-a-half-pound reduction. (Some stores have a 40 oz. version.)
*MOUSE PRINT:
| Thomas’ Bagels |
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Bagels keep getting smaller. Factory-produced ones were once 24 ounces in a six-pack. Then they went to 22 ounces, and some reduced to 20 ounces, like Thomas’. Now those are down to 18 ounces with 30 fewer calories. Thanks to Richard G. for this submission.
*MOUSE PRINT:
| Oscar Mayer Beef Franks |
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It seems like frankfurters are getting smaller and smaller too. The latest brand to do that is Oscar Mayer which went from being a pound to 15 ounces.
*MOUSE PRINT:
| Great Value Ground Coffee |
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Even Walmart gets into the downsizing act on their store brands. Here, the old 11.3 ounce cans of ground coffee became just 9.6 ounces. You probably lost about five cups of coffee in the process. Remember when ground coffee used to come in one-pound cans?
If you find a popular product that has been downsized recently, please send a picture of the old and the new version to Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks
I remember in college in the late 90s when the toilet paper shrinking had started. Some brands were 280 sheets and a few had dropped to 200 sheets. How is it realistic that 45 sheets on a roll is realistic?
Jason… Manufacturers refer to single rolls on the front of their packages with language like “12 mega rolls equals 48 regular rolls.” Single rolls don’t exist anymore, however. If they did, they would have 52 sheets each, and families would have to change them daily!
The only good news here is that Oscar Mayer “beef franks” are shrinking. Hopefully they’ll shrink down to zero oz. They’re inedible. (They need to answer to a higher authority.)
It is a very safe bet anything that is 15 ounces used to be 16.
Yes, and likewise other volume measures that are in the vicinity but shy of what had been customary benchmarks (e.g., gallon, half-gallon, quart, liter).
Shrinkflation needs to stop. Just increase the price!!!!
I am not opposed to shrinkflation per se. I would like the companies to be more upfront about it though. For example, state “smaller size, same price.” The optics of companies that do otherwise appear to be trying to sneak something past consumers. I would be more likely to continue buying products from companies who do the former rather than the latter.
Bidet for the win! That’s how we “shrank” our usage