orange juice – Mouse Print*

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Florida’s Natural Orange Juice Goes Rogue

July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Florida’s Natural, a big competitor of Tropicana orange juice, has made a name for itself as a collective of Florida growers who only sell OJ “not from concentrate” under that brand.

Well, stop the presses because an astute reader, Brandon R., just discovered a big change in the label of Florida’s Natural.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Why did they get rid of the big thing they were known for? The answer is on the back of the new cartons.

Florida's Natural explanation

So it is now a blend of different types of orange juice. The ingredients label spells it out:

*MOUSE PRINT:

The customer service people at Florida’s Natural would not say what percentage of the product is reconstituted orange juice from concentrate and how much was their fresh product. But since water is the first and most predominant ingredient and that is usually three times the amount of concentrate, fresh juice could mathematically only account for roughly between 21 and 43 percent of the new product.

Even with the additional language about concentrate now on the front of the carton, and the explanation on the back, the cartons look so similar that we don’t think most purchasers will realize there was a significant change.

Shouldn’t the company have completely redesigned its carton? (Yes, if it really wanted to let shoppers know of the big change. No, if it wanted to rely on consumers’ habit of buying a product that looks the same despite the big change.)

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Here We Downsize Again – Dec. 2018

March 14, 2022December 24, 2018 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 7th.

We wrap up the year with another round of products that have been downsized.

Florida’s Natural

This has been the year of shrinking orange juice containers. First it was Tropicana and then Simply Orange followed suit. And now it’s Florida’s Natural that has gone from 59 ounces to just 52 ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Cottonelle

Toilet paper is one of the categories subject to frequent downsizing. And a popular brand, Cottonelle has shrunk again. This time, it lost 40 sheets per roll. Thanks to our friend Richard G. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Charmin

But let’s not leave out the king of toilet tissue – Charmin. Their “strong” mega rolls went from 308 sheets to just 286 sheets per roll. Mega is not so mega anymore. Thanks to Richard G. again.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Sweet ‘n Low

Now here’s a product you would never expect to be downsized – those little Sweet ‘n Low packets. Eagled-eyed Nancy S. caught this inconspicuous change with each packet going from 0.04 ounces to 0.035 — five-thousands of an ounce less. But the packet says it is still equivalent to about two teaspoons of sugar.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Johnson’s Baby Shampoo

Next, we have Johnson’s Baby shampoo. Tom G. found that the old 15-ounce bottle is now just 13.6 ounces for the same price. It’s never too early to teach a child about downsizing.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Johnson's Baby shampoo

CVS Cashews

Finally, we have CVS cashews. A sharp-eyed shopper, Mario C., caught the fact that CVS lopped off three-quarters of an ounce from their own brand of whole cashews (like it is not bad enough that they charge over $15 for slightly more than a pound of nuts). The package redesign gave the drug chain an opportunity to change the net weight too.

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you spot a product that has been recently downsized, please submit it to: edgar (at symbol) mouseprint.org

Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Tropicana Orange Juice Downsizes Again

March 14, 2022August 13, 2018 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Back in the good old days, one could buy half a gallon of Tropicana orange juice in a container. Then in 2010, the company (and the industry) downsized the traditional 64 ounce container to 59 ounces.

Then they introduced attractive carafes of orange juice in a shape not easily distinguishable as a particular size, but they were still 59 ounces.

Now in the summer of 2018, Tropicana, following the lead of Simply Orange, is in the process of downsizing again. This time to a mere 52 ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The bottles look identical on store shelves. Same width, same height. So how did they reduce the contents by a full seven ounces so inconspicuously?

*MOUSE PRINT:

The bottles aren’t as deep as they were… that’s how they accomplished this clever sleight-of-hand.

On the Tropicana website, they explain why they downsized the product:

We consider this one of the sneakiest downsizes ever because of both the tiny net contents statement which is often hidden by the shelf rack edge in some supermarkets, and the appearance of the bottles which look identical head-on. What do you think? Add your comments below.

Thanks to eagle-eyed reader, Edward E., for catching the change.