Downsizing / Shrinkflation

Here are products that have shrunken in size as a sneaky way for manufacturers to pass on a hidden price increase.

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Post Is Skimping on Cereal Servings Per Box Says Lawsuit

A New York consumer is suing Post over allegedly misleading claims for one of its breakfast cereals. (See complaint.)

The cereal in question, 19.5-ounce “family size” boxes of Post Fruity Pebbles, is supposed to have enough cereal for 15 one-cup bowls of cereal.

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Fruity Pebbles label

The consumer’s lawyers contend, however, that it has far less.

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Fruity Pebbles allegations

They hired an independent testing lab which determined that the cereal is denser than the label indicates, so you actually only get 11.3 one-cup serving per box, and thus the claimed amount of calories, sugar, and sodium is far higher per serving than represented.

Fruity Pebbles difference

So, the company is being sued for false and misleading statements and unjust enrichment under New York law. They are asking the judge for refunds and corrective advertising.

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Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2026 – Part 2

We continue this week spotlighting some of the various products that were reduced in size recently.

Dawn Platinum

Dawn Platinum claims to be “new and improved” yet their claim for cleaning efficiency remains the same — “Removes 99% of grease and food residue.” One thing for sure is, the new bottle will clean fewer dishes because it went from 32 ounces to just 30.

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Dawn Platinum

Febreze Air Freshener

Carolina M. didn’t want to make a stink about it but she tipped us off to some shrinking Febreze spray cans going from 8.8 ounces to 8.1 ounces.

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Febreze

Smucker’s Strawberry Jam

Richard G. discovered reports that Smucker’s strawberry jam recently lost two ounces from each jar going down to 30 ounces. Maybe they need to change their slogan — “with a name like Smucker’s it is sure to be good smaller.”

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Smucker's strawberry jam

Kellogg’s Corn Pops

Cereal is another category where shrinkflation is very common. This time the shrink ray hit Kellogg’s Corn Pops, going from 18.1 ounces down to 16.4. That’s about two fewer cups of cereal per box. The new boxes hide the drop in net weight by becoming more narrow, but look about the same size head-on in the supermarket aisle. Sneaky.

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Kellogg's Corn Pops

Swiffer Dusters

Glenn S. found that there are now fewer Swiffer dusters in a box than previously. The old box of 28 has gone down to 24.

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Swiffer

Kirkland Fabric Softener

Store brands are not immune from shrinkflation. Here, Costco’s Kirkland brand of fabric softener dramatically downsized from 187 ounces yielding 276 loads to 150 ounces and 257 loads. Presumably the cap has changed too. Thanks to Nora F. for this submission.

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Kirkland Ultra fabric softener

If you spot a product that has been recently downsized, please take a picture of the old and the new one and send them to: Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks.

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2026 – Part 1

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

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.

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Hershey's Dark assortment

Quilted Northern Toilet Paper

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.

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Quilted Northern

Three years ago, the mega size went from 328 sheets on a roll to 295.

Quilted Northern strong

Iams Dog Food

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.)

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Iams dog food

Thomas’ Bagels

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.

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Thomas' bagels

Oscar Mayer Beef Franks

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.

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Oscar Mayer beef franks

Great Value Ground Coffee

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?

Great Value ground coffee

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