Companies taking the P !!!

[Gettingfedupgrrrr]

This is sort of a COL thing so if you're few up with it you can tune.out before you engage.

So oil, electricity, fuel etc have gone up, manufacturers subsequently have put their prices up to cover this ...comparatively .....apparently! eg the packet of biscuits you usually bought at £1 went up to £1.40, but then they have shrunk the size, amount or ingredients of the product (sometimes all) so the overall profit is greater but affecting the product taste or worth.

I've just eaten a biscuit that I used to love, ate it periodically over the years as a treat. I bought it today but it has become a dry wizened replica of the original, whatever they've done to it. Surely there are laws on the recipes that certain things cannot be ammeneded. A few days ago I thought will we eventually find.ourselves buying quality street or celebrations with 2 types of sweets in them and a quarter of the size with all this cost cutting and economising'. Are these companies just capitalising.on the situation to command even greater profits? or am I being unreasonable?

The cost of ingredients, production and labour went up and it is reasonable for the company to aim to preserve their profits by cutting costs. It's not fair but it is reasonable. And no, the government cannot police proprietary recipes unless they include harmful ingredients.

Yes some companies are deliberately reducing the quality of ingredients (coughcoughModolez/Cadbury) and reducing how much is included.

Their profits have soared.

No one can say it’s cost of raw materials when their profits are so huge.

Maybe cut down on the crap you consume. Apples are still apples.

To be fair, I wouldn’t even describe your post as a COL issue.

It’s companies repeatedly taking advantage of consumers. I fully appreciate they are also affected, but firstly, if they have huge profit margins, then they can consider whether it’s worth pissing off their customers. And then, as you say, it’s when the price goes up and size goes down at the same time.

My favourite treat was a box of 15 chocolates which was around £1.15. It’s now gone up to £2.20ish, and advertised as “three extra free pieces”, but it still has 15. So they’re going preparing the consumer for not only doubling the price, but making it smaller. There’s no need for both - it should be one or the other.

But with your treat, could it possibly be a cutback in sugar rather than a general change in ingredients?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/profits-taste-sweet-for-cadbury-owner-mondelez-qsdvkft63#:~:text=Pre%2Dtax%20profit%20at%20Mondelez,billion%20to%20£1.95%20billion.

“Pre-tax profit at Mondelez UK rose to £131.4 million in 2022 from £62.3 million a year earlier, accounts filed at Companies House show. Its revenue rose from £1.89 billion to £1.95 billion.3 Oct 2023”

Corporate greed shouldn’t go ignored.

Take your sanctimonious attitude elsewhere.

Don't forget, that when they reduce/repackage/change ingredients the supermarkets rush to put out a "NEW PRODUCT" label to keep you buying at the inflated price

Oh FFS.

Whilst I agree with the OP, I also agree with @FFSWhatToDoNow.
There is absolutely no reason to buy any of this rubbish. I stopped years ago.
If I really want something, let's say cheese straws, I have the ingredients to make them. Ditto biscuits, cake or Yorkshire puddings.
The fact that I cannot be bothered (or very rarely) actually means that I do not really want these things. I may have an apple, some grapes or berries instead or just not bother.

Mondolez is mostly palm oil anyway, so best avoided regardless of the product.

My annoyance is with Higgidy. Something has changed with their ingredients, resulting in soggy, uncooked pastry, barely any filling and smaller sizes. Even the muffins are soggy in the middles and a lot smaller than they were. I buy the little fake sausage roll things and muffins as it is easier to count the carbs but have recently been pulling off the pastry bottoms as they are nasty which leaves a scraping of filling and partly cooked top. These are a luxury for me, as it is a change from my usual diet, but as they aren't a luxury any more I am going to stop buying them.

Would love to eat apples but actually can't, I used to get through several day, now am reduced to a small amount of berries and not much else fruit.

There are no laws against a manufacturer changing a recipe, but you can stop buying the product and email the manufacturer to tell them why. If enough people do so, they might pay attention.

I agree with you op. They’ve branded this as a ‘Cost of living crisis’ when all it appears to be is a cost of greed crisis.

All of the industries that are increasing exponentially, like gas, electric, groceries are publishing record breaking profits.

Like Cauldron sausages? I don't think they were changed back were they, even when loads of people complained.

I have contacted Quorn/Cauldron a few times and never got anywhere with anything. Most of their stuff is inedible now, so I don't buy it, I know it is crap anyway, but it was useful for me on days when I needed something easy.

Well Cadburys started this nonsense well before the COL! It was greed.
YANBU

Companies are indeed taking the Micky. Shrinkflation and putting costs up, I hate it. I've ended up baking more of my own biscuits and cakes. I'll end up fatter than when I was buying the crap instead! 😂

We’ve started to bake more. It’s stuff for the kids pack up - packets that used to be £1 are now £1.70 so on Sunday I make a batch of something that can last the week.

Must be better than processed shit anyway.

This is corporate greed and the col crisis has just given them something convenient to blame.

The only way to meaningfully protest is to stop buying their overpriced products. There are always alternatives out there, which give better value for money. When people stop buying it, they'll have to revisit their decisions to cut quality and increase cost.

I didn’t even say anything about what Nestle’s products (OP mentioned quality street) fund……..

There's always one !🙄

My youngest use to like Gold biscuits when she was smaller. Bought her a multipack on Saturday as a little treat.

FFS!! I couldn't believe how small they are now.

Whatever they've done it's ended up drier and more brittle. I enjoy a biscuit, don't eat these all the time just now and again but there is a distinct loss of flavour and texture.

I will be contacting them but like alot of products I won't be repurchasing.