From toilet paper to candy bars, companies hide rising costs by shrinking the size of everyday products. Here's what that looks like.

The prices of consumer goods are increasing, from food to household necessities. Some companies are hiding this by shrinking product sizes instead.

• Prices of consumer goods are increasing at the fastest rate in 40 years.
• The term shrinkflation describes brands selling smaller amounts of product for the same price as before.
• It's a sneaky way for brands to hide growing prices. 
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Ingredients and manufacturing are getting more expensive amid soaring inflation, and it usually results in two things: higher prices or smaller-sized products.

Consumer food prices have jumped 10.9% over the past year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – the biggest 12-month increase since 1979. Margarine, coffee, soup, and eggs are among the worst-hit food items, per the BLS data. Egg prices have increased nearly 40%.

Some companies don't want to hike prices, though, in case this deters shoppers. Instead, they're maintaining a similar price point by subtly making their products smaller. This includes making candy bars sold in multipacks smaller than ones being sold individually, or changing the shape of their products so you can barely notice the difference in weight.

But customers are starting to notice.

This phenomenon, known as shrinkflation, was already happening before the coronavirus pandemic, but is set to get worse as inflation persists, pushing up how much manufacturers and retailers pay for both raw materials and labor.

TikTok users have been posting about the trend, encouraging shoppers to look more closely at the weights of what they buy and make sure they're still getting value for money. Some of these videos are getting hundreds of thousands of views. 

Yelp said in July that shoppers and diners have started to post reviews referencing smaller portion sizes, too. The site said that hot dogs, burgers, and pizzas were the food categories where reviewers mentioned shrinkflation the most.

Frito-Lay shrank bags of some of its Dorito's from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces. Bags in both of these sizes, as well as some 9.5-ounce bags, are currently for sale at Target for the same price. "We took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips," a Frito-Lay spokesperson told Quartz.

Sources: Target, Quartz

Gatorade redesigned its 32 ounces bottle to be "more aerodynamic and it's easier to grab," a representative told Quartz in March. The new design holds 28 ounces – a 14% drop, despite both bottles being the same height.

Source: Quartz

Pizza giant Domino's said in January that it would be cutting down the number of chicken wings in its $7.99 national promotion from 10 to eight, attributing the decision to the rising price of the protein. It also made the deal online-only to save on the expense of having someone work the phone.

Source: Insider

Earlier this year, Burger King reduced the number of chicken nuggets in its $4.49 meals from 10 pieces to eight.

Sources: Insider, Burger King

Walmart Great Value Paper Towels dropped from 168 sheets per roll to only 120, while the price stayed the same.

Source: The Washington Post

Hershey cut down its 18-ounce pack of dark chocolate Kisses by almost two ounces.

Source: The Washington Post

Hefty's mega pack went from 90 bags to 80 bags, at the same price.

Source: The Washington Post

A two-pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups used to weigh 1.6 ounces. Now it's just 1.5 ounces.

Source: Confectionery News

In Canada, Quaker has reduced the size of its Chewy bars from 0.92 ounces to 0.84 ounces, CNBC reported. Photos of actor Miranda Cosgrove posing with Quaker bars show that they weighed 0.84 ounces in 2010, but some photos from 1990 show they weighed 0.99 ounces back then.

Sources: CNBC, Target

Cans of Pringles are different weights depending on the flavor in the US, but at Target they all cost the same.

Source: Target

Trade publication The Grocer reported that Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket, was shaving 50 grams (1.76 ounces) off some of its ready meals.

Source: The Grocer

Some of Royal Canin's cans of cat food now weigh 5.1 ounces, down from 5.9 ounces – but they still cost the same. Royal Canin, a subsidiary of Mars, said that it had reduced some product sizes because of "unprecedented demand" for pet food during the pandemic.

Source: The Washington Post

Tillamook decreased the size of its ice-cream cartons from 56 ounces to 48 ounces. It said that it didn't make the decision lightly, but that if it didn't make its cartons smaller it would have had to hike prices because of rising ingredients costs.

Source: Tillamook

General Mills shrunk its "family size" boxes from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces – a drop of nearly 10%.

Source: NPR

Cereal brands frequently make the shrinkflation list. Post downsized Cocoa Pebbles and other family-size boxes from 20.5 to 19.5 ounces, according to consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky's watchdog website.

Source: Consumer World

Quaker's Life cereal also shrunk from 24.8 ounce to 22.3, and it was renamed from "giant" to "family" size – even though the box actually got bigger.

Source: Consumer World

Cottonelle's Ultra Clean Care toilet paper is down to 312 sheets from 340.

Source: Associated Press

Bounty Triples reduced sheet count from 165 sheets to 147. Procter & Gamble told Quartz that it's still a better deal than before because the sheets are more absorbent.

Source: Quartz

Cadbury changed the shape of its famous Dairy Milk bars in 2013 – and changed the size of them, too. The individual pieces now have rounded edges and contain nearly 10% less chocolate than before.

Source: BBC

But Dairy Milk isn't the only product Cadbury, owned by Mondelez, has shrunk over the years. Chocolate bars it sells in multipacks weigh much less than ones it sells individually – and it announced plans to shrink down the size of multipack bars even further still.

Source: BBC

Mondelez also owns Swiss chocolate company Toblerone, which makes distinctively triangular chocolate bars. In 2014 it reduced the weight of its bars by 25% by adding more space between each piece – but reversed the decision two years later after public outcry.

Source: BBC

Crest shrunk 3D White Radiant Mint toothpaste from 4.1 to 3.8 ounces.

Source: Quartz

Wheat Thins changed its family size from 16 to 14 ounces, with about 28 fewer crackers per box.

Source: Quartz

Chobani minimized its Flips yogurt from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces.

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Pedigree changed the size of some dry dog foods from 50 lbs to 44 lbs while keeping prices the same, according to Dwyer's website.

Source: Consumer World

Folgers reduced its 51-ounce container down to 43.5 ounces, but the company says it makes the same number of cups of coffee thanks to lighter beans.

Source: Associated Press

Procter & Gamble reportedly shrunk its Pantene Pro-V Curl Perfection conditioner from 12 fluid ounces down to 10.4 while the price stayed the same.

Source: Associated Press