Downsizing / Shrinkflation – Page 17

Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Downsize Again – Winter ’22 (Part 1)

March 28, 2022March 7, 2022 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

With inflation rearing its ugly head, we are seeing not only a wave of direct price increases on groceries, but also sneaky ones when manufacturers inconspicuously reduce the size of their products. This downsizing or shrinkflation as it currently is called is so prevalent at the moment, we have to spend this week and next showing you the dozen examples we’ve collected.

Charmin

Over the past 60 years we’ve seen Charmin toilet paper go from 650 single-ply sheets on a roll to the equivalent of 90% less assuming you could even find single rolls any longer. The latest change shows ultra soft “Mega” rolls going from 264 double-ply sheets per roll to 244. And “Super Mega” rolls went from 396 sheets to 366.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Older, larger sizes of Charmin that we have tracked can be seen here. Thanks to our ace downsizing detector, Richard G., for this submission.

Snyder’s Pretzels

Snyder’s Honey Mustard & Onion pretzels now have a “new look” and “big flavor” but come in a new smaller size. Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this change.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Keebler Cookies

Coming to supermarket shelves soon are new smaller packages of Keebler cookies. Chips Deluxe with M&Ms are going from 11.3 oz. to 9.75 and even more dramatic changes are occurring in their “family size” package. And Keebler E.L. Fudge packages lost 1.3 ounces and 20 calories per cookie. Note: In some stores, the new, smaller family size Chips Deluxe with M&Ms is one dollar less.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Gatorade

Gatorade has come in 32 ounces bottles forever, it seems. Now the product has gone on a diet and their new bottles have developed a waistline. That indent around the middle of the bottle is a telltale sign that the new bottles hold less — four ounces less, in fact. But, they are the exact same height.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Pantene Conditioner

Pantene conditioner recently changed its packaging going from a bottle to a tube. And somehow two full ounces of the product disappeared in the process. Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this change.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Pantene conditioner

Earth’s Best Snack Bars

It looks like a good math lesson comes courtesy of this Sesame Street snack bar. Kids, can you say “seven” instead of “eight” bars are now in every box? Thanks to Richard G. again.

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you find a product that has been downsized recently, please send a before and after picture with the net weight or net count showing to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks!

Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Downsize Again — Year-End 2021

January 26, 2022December 27, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 10.

We end the year with another round of products that have been downsized from their former larger-size packages. Of course, the new-fangled name for this is “shrinkflation.” But, no matter what you call it, it still is a sneaky way to pass on a price increase.

Crest Toothpaste

I don’t know how anyone can keep track of toothpaste tube sizes these days. They just keep getting smaller and smaller. Here, Crest 3D White lost over eight percent of its contents, going from 4.1 ounces to just 3.8. Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this change.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Milky Way

Candy is another big category for downsizing. This time, it is Milky Way Fun Size bars that went from 11.24 oz. down to 10.65 oz. There is just a little less fun in each bag. Thanks to M.F. for spotting the change.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Twinings Tea CORRECTION

Even the stately boxes of Earl Grey tea by Twinings got hit by the shrink-ray, it appeared, according to reader M.F. In this case, it looked like the 25-count boxes were downsized to just 20.

*MOUSE PRINT:

However, a representative for Twinings just reached out to us to say that Twinings tea has NOT in fact been downsized. They apparently sell both the 20 and 25-count boxes of tea bags to different retailers. So depending on where you shop, you may find either the smaller box or the larger one. We regret the error.

Gain Detergent

P&G apparently has been tinkering with the cup size or the formula for Gain laundry detergent. The new bottles contain 11 ounces less than the old ones, but supposedly you still get the same 107 loads out of every container. Of course, no one ever gets the number of loads promised on the label out of a bottle of detergent. That count is usually for a tiny load only when filling the cup a fraction of the way up to a line that is virtually invisible.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Aleve

Finally, if all these shrinking products give you a headache, don’t turn to the 100-caplet size bottles of Aleve. They now only have 90 pills.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kirkland Paper Towels UPsized

Last May, we showed you how Costco had downsized their Kirkland paper towels from 160 sheets on a roll to 140. [Original story] Well, fast-forward to this past September, and reader David F. reported that Costco had restored the missing 20 sheets to their paper towel rolls, so they are back up to 160 sheets. Perhaps it was all the bad publicity that surrounded that downsizing that convinced the company to bring back the previous larger size. In any event, hat’s off to Costco.

If you find an example of a product that has downsized, please submit a sharp photo of the old and new packages side-by-side to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.

Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Downsize Again – Summer 2021 (Part 2)

August 17, 2021August 9, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

This week we continue our series on shrinkflation — the downsizing of grocery products — everything from toilet paper to shampoo to sardines. This is our biggest display of downsized items ever. (See last week’s part one.)

Bounty Paper Towels

Last winter, paper products manufacturers alerted shoppers that prices would go up this past June because of higher manufacturing and distribution costs. And while some prices might have increased directly, some may gone up indirectly through downsizing. Here triple rolls of Bounty paper towels lost 18 sheets per roll going from 165 sheets to just 147.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Costco-Kirkland Toilet Paper

After downsizing its paper towels, Costco has now turned to its Kirkland brand of toilet paper. The new roll went from 425 sheets down to 380 sheets. The packages stayed the same price ($19.99 online/delivered), but you lost the equivalent of over three rolls in each package. The label does say the new rolls are “thicker than ever before.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

Season Sardines

Thanks to a California reader named Dave, we have some fishy downsizing. He discovered cans of Season sardines at his local Walmart store going from 4.375 ounces down to 3.75 ounces. Aren’t sardines small enough already? We found both cans at Walmart.com selling for the same $3.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tresemme Keratin Shampoo

We have a repeat offender next. The big black bottles of Tresemme shampoo downsized years ago from 32 ounces to just 28. And around 2018, the red bottles of Tresemme Keratin went from 25 ounces to 22 ounces. Now, eagle-eyed shopper C.S. spotted yet another reduction — this time, down to just 20 ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Ziploc Bags

It is really hard to keep track of the number of bags in each box of these products. Ziploc removed four bags from their boxes of 54.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart Chicken Caesar Salad

Laura G. wrote to us complaining about her favorite Marketside Chicken Caesar salad from Walmart. It disappeared last month and then suddenly reappeared, but in a much smaller portion at a similar price. The package actually went from 14.375 ounces to just 12.1 ounces. She concluded, “not happy with the changes.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tostitos Hint of …

Frito-Lay is once again tinkering with the sizes of their bags of chips. This time, Tostitos Hint of Guacamole shrank by one ounce from 12 to 11 ounces, and Hint of Lime went from 13 ounces to just 11.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Quaker Instant Oatmeal

Quaker is in the process of removing twenty percent of the pouches in some of their instant oatmeal packages. Whereas you used get 10 servings in a box, now you only get eight. Looking at the boxes head-on, they are identical, but sideways, the old one is deeper. On the bright side, they made the font bigger for the number of packets in each box.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Dial Body Wash

If your Dial body wash bottle seems to run out more quickly, it is not your imagination. Bottles recently lost almost 25% of the contents, going from 21 ounces to only 16.

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you find a product that has been downsized, please try to take a sharp picture of both the old and the new package and submit them to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.