Shrinkflation: The Silent Shift in Everyday Staples
Households are facing an unexpected squeeze on their grocery budgets as everyday staples begin to shrink in size while prices remain the same. This phenomenon, dubbed "shrinkflation," is being driven by manufacturers' efforts to reduce costs without affecting profit margins.
From toothpaste to coffee, and even heartburn medicine, a range of popular products have been quietly downsized. The culprit? Rising raw material costs, which are driving up production expenses for companies like Nestle and Haleon Great Britain and Ireland. For instance, Aquafresh complete care original toothpaste went from 100ml to just 75ml at Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Ocado, with the price remaining unchanged.
Gaviscon heartburn liquid has also suffered a similar fate, shrinking from 600ml to 500ml while retaining its hefty £14 price tag – equivalent to a 20% increase per 100ml. Meanwhile, Nescafé instant coffee was reduced from 200g to 190g at Tesco, Morrisons, and Asda, with prices rising by around 5% per 100g.
Chocolate has not been spared either, as Quality Street tubs were downsized from 600g to 550g, while Club and Penguin biscuits have seen their cocoa content reduced significantly. This shift is largely due to the impact of rising cocoa prices on manufacturers' bottom lines.
Consumer watchdog Which? has called for greater transparency in product changes, citing the need for shoppers to be able to make informed choices about what they buy. "Households are already under immense financial pressure," says Reena Sewraz, retail editor at the watchdog. "Supermarkets must be more upfront about their prices so that it's easy to see what the best value is."
Recent data suggests that shop price inflation has begun to ease, with a 1% decrease in October compared to 1.4% in September. This drop was largely driven by packaged and tinned foods, where prices fell by 2.9%, while non-food prices decreased by 0.4%.
While the news may be welcome for some, it's unlikely to alleviate pressure on household budgets entirely. As Reena Sewraz notes, "Shoppers must be able to compare costs across different brands and sizes of packaging" – a task that becomes increasingly difficult when product sizes are reduced without corresponding price cuts.
Households are facing an unexpected squeeze on their grocery budgets as everyday staples begin to shrink in size while prices remain the same. This phenomenon, dubbed "shrinkflation," is being driven by manufacturers' efforts to reduce costs without affecting profit margins.
From toothpaste to coffee, and even heartburn medicine, a range of popular products have been quietly downsized. The culprit? Rising raw material costs, which are driving up production expenses for companies like Nestle and Haleon Great Britain and Ireland. For instance, Aquafresh complete care original toothpaste went from 100ml to just 75ml at Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Ocado, with the price remaining unchanged.
Gaviscon heartburn liquid has also suffered a similar fate, shrinking from 600ml to 500ml while retaining its hefty £14 price tag – equivalent to a 20% increase per 100ml. Meanwhile, Nescafé instant coffee was reduced from 200g to 190g at Tesco, Morrisons, and Asda, with prices rising by around 5% per 100g.
Chocolate has not been spared either, as Quality Street tubs were downsized from 600g to 550g, while Club and Penguin biscuits have seen their cocoa content reduced significantly. This shift is largely due to the impact of rising cocoa prices on manufacturers' bottom lines.
Consumer watchdog Which? has called for greater transparency in product changes, citing the need for shoppers to be able to make informed choices about what they buy. "Households are already under immense financial pressure," says Reena Sewraz, retail editor at the watchdog. "Supermarkets must be more upfront about their prices so that it's easy to see what the best value is."
Recent data suggests that shop price inflation has begun to ease, with a 1% decrease in October compared to 1.4% in September. This drop was largely driven by packaged and tinned foods, where prices fell by 2.9%, while non-food prices decreased by 0.4%.
While the news may be welcome for some, it's unlikely to alleviate pressure on household budgets entirely. As Reena Sewraz notes, "Shoppers must be able to compare costs across different brands and sizes of packaging" – a task that becomes increasingly difficult when product sizes are reduced without corresponding price cuts.
Shrinkflation is basically just a fancy way of saying "we're not going to raise our prices but we're gonna make the products smaller so you'll still buy 'em". It's like, if I can get the same amount of coffee for less money by buying a 190g packet instead of a 200g one, what's the big deal? 
Manufacturers are just trying to save on production costs and passing it on to us consumers. And honestly, it's not like we're getting better products or anything... more like they're just cutting corners.
Manufacturers are just messing with us now! They're downsizing products and still charging the same price... it's like they're taking advantage of us! 
I mean, what's next? Downsizing our attention span to fit more ads into a single scroll on social media? 
But seriously, this is so frustrating. We need greater transparency in product changes, for sure. Like, why can't we just know what we're getting when we buy something?! 
I'm all about optimizing my online shopping experience (
), but this stuff is just low-key annoying. Can someone pls start calling out these companies on it? 
i mean think about it if prices stay the same but products get smaller its basically just a cost-cutting measure on the consumer not the company 
and dont even get me started on how hard it is to shop around when its all just gonna be a bunch of random sizes & prices everywhere u need to pay attention folks 1% decrease in october might seem like a win but trust me its still whack 
. I mean, can't companies just raise prices if they need to make some cash? It's always someone else's turn to feel the pinch, like toothpaste and coffee 
️. And it's not just that - all these product sizes getting reduced without any price drops is a total no-go 
. We need more transparency from the supermarkets so we can actually know what we're paying for 
.
Anyways, I think Which? has a point tho 
We deserve to know what we're getting for our cash! 
. I know it's annoying but honestly, it's just the way things are going now 
. Manufacturers are trying to save cash and we're left picking up the slack 
. I mean, 75ml of toothpaste for the same price as before? It's like they're not even bothering to label it anymore 
. And don't even get me started on those chocolate tubs - 50g less cocoa for a few quid less 
. I'm all for transparency, though - if you can see what's going on, maybe you'll be more careful with your shopping 
. Still, it's hard to swallow (pun intended) 
anyway, have you ever tried making your own pasta from scratch? It's literally so easy and worth it! You can use whatever shape you like and add all sorts of crazy flavors. I'm thinking of trying out this pesto recipe next...
. And what really gets me is that prices are still staying the same or even going up slightly, but you get less product 
like how they're keeping the prices the same but reducing the size of our fave products. Toothpaste is already tiny now, imagine having to buy 25% more toothpaste to get the same amount 
! it's like they're trying to take away our money without us noticing 
. it's already hard enough keeping track of my school expenses, i don't need to worry about shrinkflation too 
.
. It's like companies are trying to make us think we're saving money when really we're just getting less for our cash