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.
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.
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.
Earlier this year, Burger King reduced the number of chicken nuggets in its $4.49 meals from 10 pieces to eight.I tried Burger King's new vegan chicken nuggets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Crest shrunk 3D White Radiant Mint toothpaste from 4.1 to 3.8 ounces.Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste fills the shelves of a grocery store on Thursday, June 14, 2018, in Aventura, Fla.
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