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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Here We Shrink Again – Fall 2025 – Part 1

Shrinkflation seems to have slowed a little, but with the effect of tariffs on manufacturing costs, we probably can expect smaller products and higher prices soon. Here are some more products that have been downsized over recent months.

Honey Nut Cheerios

Even the biggest boxes of breakfast cereal can’t escape the shrinkflation chopping block. Earlier this year, General Mills inconspicuously lopped off more than two ounces from the mega size boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios. That’s two fewer bowls in every package.

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Honey Nut Cheerios downsized

All Free & Clear Detergent

As other liquid detergents have downsized, so has All Free & Clear. Almost two cups was removed from the prior 88 ounce version, making the new one only 73 ounces. Yet, miracle of miracles, you still get 58 loads (supposedly) out of every bottle.

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All Free & Clear detergent

Kroger Tall Kitchen Bags

Not to be left out of the downsizing frenzy are store brands. These Kroger tall kitchen bags lost five bags in every box. And probably the old 45-bag size had itself been downsized from 50 bags.

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Kroger tall kitchen bags

Dole Juices

We have seen refrigerated orange juices go from 64 ounces to 59 ounces to 52 ounces and in some cases to 46 ounces. Joining the ever-shrinking juice brigade is Dole. Their apple juice (and some other varieties) have just been reduced from 59 ounces to 52 ounces. Ace shrinkflation spotter Richard G. discovered that Dole Orange Peach Mango also downsized, for example.

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Dole Apple Juice

Ghirardelli Squares

Your dentist may be happy, but consumers probably won’t welcome getting two fewer chocolate squares in every bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint. Now there are only 10 in a bag.

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Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate mint

Reynolds Parchment Paper

Here is an item that you probably only buy every few years — Reynolds Parchment Paper. The old size was 50-square feet. Then they came out with a 45-square-foot version. But, the company says it added the smaller 45-square foot version to accommodate retailers who wanted to be able offer a lower price. Both versions are still available, but not at the same store. [This entry has been edited to clarify that point.]

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Reynold 45 and 50 sq. ft. versions

Next week, we’ll show you a similar product-size variation with breakfast cereal whose net contents vary depending on what store you are in.

And, we’ll have part two with more shrinking products. If you find a product that has been recently downsized, please take a side-by-side picture of the old and the new and send them to Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks.

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First They Shrunk It, Now Turkey Hill Skimped on It

Two years ago, we reported that Turkey Hill practiced a bit of shrinkflation on their standard 48-ounce cartons of ice cream by reducing them to 46 ounces.

Now our reader Michael C. says they are pulling another fast one. Can you spot the change?

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Turkey Hill ice cream changes

Turkey Hill cleverly deleted the words “ice cream” from the red band on the face of the container and substituted the word “quality.” This allowed the company to subtly turn many of their premium ice cream flavors into frozen dairy desserts — a less rich and cheaper to make product. The words “frozen dairy dessert” were added in minute type on the bottom left.

Under federal law, to be called “ice cream,” the product must contain at least 10% milk fat. Based on the nutrition labels of the old and new product, cream, which used to be the second ingredient in their real ice cream, moved near the end in their new version.

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Nutrition Fact labels

We asked the company a number of questions including why they made this change and did so so inconspicuously. They did not reply to multiple inquiries.

Perhaps the company needs to rename this flavor:

Not Much Cream

Your comments are welcome. (Bug preventing comments being able to be posted is fixed.)

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Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2025

Shrinkflation slowed a little in early 2025, but now seems to be picking up a bit again. Here are some more products that have been downsized over the past six months or so.

Simply Orange Orange Juice

Except for store brand orange juice which in some cases is still 64 ounces, brand name OJ has had a steady decline in size going from 64 oz. to 59 oz. to 52 oz. and now to 46 oz. The latest casualty is Simply Orange whose carafes are now just 46 ounces. And in MrConsumer’s Stop & Shop, the price actually went UP 10 cents to $4.89! To look at the bottles head-on, it is hard to see how you lost a full glass of OJ in each one. You may be able to find old and new bottles side-by-side in your local supermarket right now.

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Simply Orange 52 to 46 oz

Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this change.

Ruffles

Potato chip bags have been downsized for decades. The latest example is Ruffles whose bags are now down to 8.5 ounces from nine ounces. But rest assured, you’ll still get the same amount of air or perhaps a bit more in each bag.

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Ruffles

Tide

Another category where there has been a lot of resizing is laundry detergents. The latest trend seems to be to keep the number of loads you get the same, but with fewer ounces of the product.

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Tide 14 oz. less

In this case, big bottles of Tide shrank by 14 ounces, but you still supposedly could get 100 itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie loads of laundry out of every bottle. The difference is usually explained by having some amount of water removed from the formulation. That makes the stuff more concentrated so you can use a little less in each wash load. Raise your hand if you actually do use less!

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Tide 250 - 225 oz

Less popular these days is powdered detergent, but that doesn’t exempt them from being downsized. Here, 25 ounces was removed from each box, but you still theoretically are able to get 143 loads out of it. The question becomes what unnecessary ingredient have they removed from this dry product that doesn’t affect its cleaning ability? It certainly is not water. Thanks to Brendan B. for spotting this change at Costco.

Bounty Paper Towels

Paper products is another big category where we find shrinkflation. In this case, earlier this year, P&G downsized Bounty. In this case, their triple rolls went for 135 sheets down to 123. Thanks to both Richard G. and Brendan B. for spotting this.

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Bounty lost a dozen sheets

Crystal Light

With summer not too far away, don’t expect your Crystal Light packages to make as many bottles of lemonade as before. The old six-pack has become a four-pack.

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Crystal Light

Pure Leaf Tea

Another summertime beverage also is now giving you less per bottle — Pure Leaf tea. The half gallon bottles lost five ounces and are now just 59 ounces. But the bottles are about the same height. One trick they used was making the cap larger. They also had to taper the bottle, it appears. Thanks to Denise H. for this submission.

CORRECTION: Both these sizes still exist. The larger one is a shelf-stable product in the grocery/beverages section, while the smaller one is sold in the refrigerated case, unchanged. Thanks to Kevin M. for the clarification.

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Pure Leaf tea

If you spot a product that was downsized, please provide details and try to submit a picture showing the old and new side-by-side as you see above to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org. Thanks.