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 – Year-End 2023

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 1st.

Some big brands are continuing to downsize their products despite some easing of the inflation rate… so shrinkflation continues as we wrap up 2023.

Huggies Baby Wipes

Better get those very young grandchildren potty-trained because there are 64 fewer Huggies baby wipes in every carton.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Huggies baby wipes

Downy Fabric Softener

Through the miracle of modern chemistry, P&G has reduced the size of Downy fabric softener by seven ounces a bottle, but you still get 60 washloads out of each bottle. Presumably they concentrated the product and adjusted the hard-to-see dosage lines inside the cap.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Downy

Equate Liquid Hand Soap

One of our readers, Steven T., discovered that Walmart’s brand of liquid hand soap recently seemed skinnier. It lost more than 10-percent of its contents, going from a 56-ounce bottle down to only 50 ounces. Remember, it is not just name brands that shrink — stores brands continue to get into the act as well.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Equate hand soap

Folgers Breakfast Blend

Coffee has historically been one of the categories of groceries that has been downsized repeatedly through the decades. This time it is Folger’s Breakfast Blend, which went from 25.4 ounces to 22.6 ounces. And through the magic of modern science, you still theoretically get the same 210 cups of coffee out of every canister. Thanks to Herb W., the Consumerman, for this submission.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Folgers Breakfast Blend

Pepperidge Farm Gold Fish

There are fewer of those happy little goldfish in every Pepperidge Farm carton these days. The old large 30-ounce carton was reduced by almost 10-percent and is now only 27.3 ounces. Thanks to Richard G. and Reddit for this submission.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Gold Fish

Peanut M&Ms

M&Ms, like many candies, have changed bag sizes so many times, it is impossible to keep track. Some months ago their “sharing size” package went from 10.70 ounces to 10.05 ounces. Who comes up with these crazy weights? Whatever happened to simple eight, 12 or 16-ounce bags?

*MOUSE PRINT:

M&Ms

Stacy’s Pita Chips

Potato chips have not cornered the market on snacks that have been subject to shrinkflation. Pita chip bags have been downsized also, including Stacy’s pita chips that have lost two ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Stacy's Pita Chips

Tide Oxi

Since P&G downsized Downy, how could they leave Tide behind? The oxi-version of Tide in large jugs went from 154 ounces down to 146 ounces, and you even get fewer loads the new bottle!

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tide Ultra Oxi

Walgreens Toilet Paper

It is not just name brands that downsize their paper products. Walgreens recently lopped off 40 sheets on their Ultra Soft toilet tissue with no fanfare.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walgreen Ultra Soft

Charmin Ultra Soft

When Charmin added a scalloped edge to Charmin recently to make sheets tear more easily, they also cut off 30 sheets sheets from each mega roll. Thanks to our ace shrinkflation spotter, Richard G. for this submission.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Charmin Soft

Pennysticks Pretzels

A dollar store staple has been has been Prennysticks brand of pretzel sticks and twists. They have been sold in 12-ounce bags forever, it seems. Then for the past couple of months they disappeared from Dollar Tree. But now they are back … with two ounces less in every bag.

*MOUSE PRINT:

pretzels

Arm & Hammer Detergent

In what may be one of the largest downsizings ever, Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skim detergent took 49 ounces out of their 189-ounce jugs, but magically you still get 140 loads out of each bottle. One gets the impression that we must have been paying for an awful lot of water in the jugs for years.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin

Nutri Source Dog Food

Phil L. reported that Nutri Sounce large breed dog food downsized from 30 pounds to 26 pounds this past spring, so he loaded up before suffering a four-pound loss on every bag. The price remained at $61.99 for him.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nutri Source adult dog food

Campbell’s Home Style Soup

Richard G. spotted a complete change in packaging for Campbell’s Home Style soup. The can is smaller and it lost two-and-a-half ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Campbell's Home Style soup

Apologies to other readers who sent in submissions that we did not use this year. Some were regional brands, or more obscure products, or changes that were not recent.

But in 2024, if you find a product that has recently downsized, please send clear before and after pictures including the net weight or net count to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org .

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Shrink Again – Early Fall 2023

Some big brands are continuing to downsize their products despite some easing of the inflation rate… so shrinkflation continues.

Betty Crocker Cake Mixes

Remember when Betty Crocker cake mixes always used to be 18.25 ounces years ago?

Betty Crocker 18.25 oz.

Some time ago, the mix was downsized to 15.25 oz. and recently shrunk again to just 13.25 oz. — a full five ounces less than the original. The boxes are identical in size. You still add the same ingredients. You still use the same size pans. But, you now get nine servings instead of 10.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Betty Crocker Yellow cake boxes

Thanks to Richard G. for spotting the latest change.

Arm & Hammer Plus Oxi Clean

We all know (or should know) that the number of washes you get from a bottle of liquid detergent is a load of **** because it is usually based on a small or medium-size load. And the lines inside the cap are so hard to see, it really comes down to guess work if you are trying to use the right amount of detergent.

Now we have Arm & Hammer doing something a little unusual — shrinking their product but at the same time increasing the number of theoretic loads you are supposed to get in each bottle. We don’t know if they actually concentrated the product, so you can use less, or they just tinkered with the positioning of the fill lines.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Arm & Hammer

Here you have an older bottle that was 122.5 oz., then it went down to 118.1 oz., and just recently it shrunk again to 100 oz. … but look how the number of loads increased. Thanks to Andrea for catching the latest change.

Farm Rich Mozzarella Bites

Frank C. told us about a significant reduction in the size of the package for Farm Rich Mozzarella Bites, going from close to 20 ounces to just 15. But he said the bites were now bigger but with fewer calories per serving. What’s going on here? A closer look at front panel reveals they changed the serving size from four bites to just two now.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Farm rich Mozzarella bites

Quilted Northern Toilet Tissue

In the never-ending reduction of the number of sheets of toilet paper on each roll, the Quilted Northern Ultra Plush variety has gone from 284 sheets down to 255. And their soft and strong version went from 328 to 295 sheets per roll. (Thanks to Barry K. for that tip.)

*MOUSE PRINT:

Quilted Northern plush

Quilted Northern strong

Hill’s Science Diet Dog Food

Even dog food is not immune from downsizing. Here one pet food retailer even tells customers about the “new look” and “improved recipe” of Hill’s Science Diet “Perfect Weight” dog food. They forget to mention in the graphic that the new one is two-and-a-half pounds lighter than the old one. (Bags are not to scale.)

Hills Science Diet

If you spot a product that has recently downsized, please send clear before and after pictures to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks!

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

French Supermarket to Place Warning Labels on Shrinking Products

In a first of its kind move, Carrefour, the second largest retail chain in France, just announced that starting today (September 11) it is going to warn shoppers about products that have been downsized.

How are they going to do it? They are planning to place five-inch by five-inch warning labels on products that they believe have been subject to shrinkflation (where the product has gotten smaller without there being changes to it and the customer is paying more).

*MOUSE PRINT:

Carrefour shrinkflation warning

That roughly translates to: This product has seen its weight decrease and the price from our supplier increase.

Carrefour is initially targeting a Nestle-made coffee capsule called Dolce Gusto Grande Intenso, which has risen in price by 8% while shrinking in volume, Lay’s potato chips, Lipton ice tea, and Amora mayonnaise.

The company hopes this tactic will help them negotiate lower prices for shoppers.

In another pro-consumer move, the French parliament is set to debate a proposed law soon that would require manufacturers to clearly label products that been reduced in size but the packaging has remained the same.

We salute Carrefour for being the first retail chain to stand up to product manufacturers who try to pass on these sneaky price increases to consumers. Will any US supermarket chain have the guts to do the same thing?

Next week: We’ll have a new round of products where shrinkflation has taken its toll.