Downsizing

Products that have shrunken in size.

Here We Downsize (and UP-size) Again — Spring 2021

Once again, it is time to spotlight another crop of products that are shrinking inconspicuously right in front of your eyes (and thus facilitating a sneaky price increase). And this time, we also found some products that UP-sized — giving you more for the same money!

Doritos

Eight years ago, we brought you news that Doritos had downsized its 11-3/4-ounce bags to just 11 ounces. Well, we must have missed some additional changes to its net weight in the interim because they recently dropped to 9-1/4 ounces from 9-3/4.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Doritos

The company makes it very hard to detect changes in content because the net weight statement is on the very bottom of the bag, often folded under when stocked on store shelves. Thanks to our ace downsizing spotter, Richard G., for finding this.

Nabisco Wheat Thins

James K. just alerted us to a new downsizing by Nabisco. Their family size boxes of Wheat Thins went from a nice round pound to just 14 ounces. We don’t know if the boxes remained the same size, but according to James the price stayed the same.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nabisco Wheat Thins

Costco Paper Towels

Paper towels is one of the products that has been downsized periodically over the years and that includes store brands. Costco’s own brand was recently downsized from 160 sheets on the roll to 140. So you basically lost a roll-and-a-half from each package.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Costco paper towels

Kirkland Signature UltraClean Detergent UP-sizes

It was not all bad news at Costco, however. Their own Kirkland brand of laundry detergent got a new bottle and a new label starting in 2019. The old product was said to provide 126 loads, but the new one delivers 146. Surprise!

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kirkland detergent

But, the contents of both bottles are identical: 1.51 gallons. So what’s going on here? We checked with Costco executives and got the inside scoop. The company reformulated their detergent making it slightly more concentrated. As such, the directions on the back of the bottle say you can now use slightly less. Thanks to Bill S. for this submission.

Ocean Spray UP-sizes its 100% Juices

Last month we noted that Thomas’ English Muffins up-sized from 12 to 13 ounces in their six packs. Now Richard G. discovered that Ocean Spray is apparently standardizing its juice bottles to all be 64 ounces. This reverses their move to downsize their 100% juice varieties to just 60 ounces from 64 ounces, as we reported in 2013.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Ocean Spray upsizes

If you find a product that has been either downsized or up-sized, please send a clear picture of both the old and new one to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.

No Joke: Thomas’ Upsizes Its English Muffins

This story is just in time for April Fools’ Day… but it’s no joke.

It is very rare in the food industry to find a product that has been upsized rather than downsized. But Thomas’ English Muffins recently made their packages a tiny bit larger, going from 12 to 13 ounces for six muffins.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Thomas' English Muffins

We asked the company why they made this unusual move. All a customer service rep would say is that it was a business decision in part because they were getting feedback that the muffins were too small. She could not explain the 25% increase in calories, however.

Here We Downsize Again – Year-End 2020

Final Week
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Edgar Dworsky For 25 years, Consumer World, the creator of Mouse Print*, has served readers with the latest consumer news, money-saving tips, and independent investigations. It is your generosity (and not advertising nor corporate contributions) that keeps Mouse Print* and Consumer World available as free consumer resources. So MrConsumer turns to you and humbly asks for your support again this year. Your gift will be most appreciated.

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will appear on January 4.

Once again, it is time to spotlight another crop of products that are shrinking inconspicuously right in front of your eyes (and thus sneakily raising the price).

Downy Unstoppables

The bottles look the same size, but Downy Unstoppables went from 10 ounces down to 8.6. This is the second time the product has been made to weigh less. The first time in May 2019 the bottle went from 13.2 ounces to 10. That was a reformulation of the product to remove weight from each pellet. We are guessing the same thing was just done a second time.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Downy Unstoppables

Nathan’s Pretzel Dogs

Nathan’s made a dramatic change to their pretzel dogs. Instead of five in a package, they reduced the number to just four. Thanks to Dan K. for spotting the switch.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nathan's pretzel dogs old
Nathan's pretzel dogs new

Charmin Ultra Strong

It took a while for P&G to get around to reducing the size of their “ultra strong” Charmin from 286 sheets to 264. Back in March, we reported that the “soft” version had already made the change. Thanks to eagle-eyed Richard G. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Charmin Strong

Publix Baby Shampoo

It is not just big brand names that downsize. Usually store brands will will shrink after their brand name counterparts have done so too. Two years ago, Tom G. reported that Johnson’s Baby Shampoo went from 15 ounces to 13.6. Now he discovered that his supermarket has done the same thing with their store brand.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Publix baby shampoo


 
If you spot a product that has been downsized, please take a sharp picture of the old and new one, including the net weight, and submit it to edgar (at) mouseprint.org . Thanks.