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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is it time something was done about shrinkflation?

88 replies

Frugalityfromnowon · 02/01/2025 17:22

Please tell me I'm not alone in finding this is now getting really out of hand?

OP posts:
ACynicalDad · 02/01/2025 19:19

Smaller portions are probably a good thing.

bloodredfeaturewall · 02/01/2025 19:20

doesn't anyone follow the news anymore?
floods in spain
droughts in france
plant disease (olive oil, chocolate, coffee)
harvest not accessible due to conflict
fertiliser more expensive

and I sury missed out a lot more...

APurpleSquirrel · 02/01/2025 19:23

@VegTrug - no Dairy Milk now contains Shea Butter (which is actually a wax) - it definitely didn't contain that years ago. I stopped eating Cadburys a few years ago when I genuinely thought a bag of Mini Eggs had gone off they tasted so bad!

Bruisername · 02/01/2025 19:29

Also the sugar tax and healthy eating campaigns impacted product size (not saying the latter was necessarily bad)

costs of inputs have gone up a lot and pp is right that you have to look at profit margins - for a lot of businesses these have gone down despite prices going up. However big conglomerates can absorb some of the pain

mumda · 02/01/2025 19:54

Expect a lot more of it thanks to labour growing the economy by implementing an employers national insurance

ilovebagpuss · 02/01/2025 20:00

2.50 for chilli heatwave doritos now and they are barely bigger than a grab bag! Used to be thw big sharing bag but now it's about 1/3 smaller.
Just being ripped off continuously.

bloodredfeaturewall · 02/01/2025 20:12

6€ for 10 eggs today
admittedly organic, so pricier, but Shock

Nogaxeh · 02/01/2025 20:20

Shrinkflation is a response to falling living standards.

If the economy is fixed, and living standards rise, then we will see a lot less shrinkflation.

I would not hold your breath.

NinaGeiger · 02/01/2025 20:24

Supermarket profits are still going up so they could afford to stop doing this

Oldenpeculiar · 02/01/2025 20:25

When the core price of everything used to produce products, and the overheads go up, then the price needs to go up. Or the quantity or quality go down for the same price. Otherwise the business will be losing money and then not able to operate at all.

Some prices just wouldn't be sustainable if they were increased in line with what it costs to deliver the product, and make a profit on it too. Offering less of the product, for the same or an increased price (but not as increased as it would be) especially luxury things that people would then just do without, not buying it at all.

There is undoubtedly some profiteering along the line, and some businesses taking advantage, but ultimately when you're buying a product which now costs more to produce, you're either going to pay more for it, or get less for the same price.

Some would prefer higher prices and the same sizes, personally I think the pp who suggested higher prices but with smaller and cheaper pack sizes would be the best idea - but even then implementing that would cost money that needs to be found from somewhere.

Don't get me wrong it's annoying, but when costs to produce services and goods go up, then that has to be covered somehow.

MasterBeth · 02/01/2025 20:35

Frugalityfromnowon · 02/01/2025 19:00

I can see brands like Cadbury ceasing to exist if they carry on. They've just lost their royal warrant, no one I know eats it anymore because the taste is all wrong, add the change in shape to shave off weight and increase in price and I give them 10 years maximum.

Yeah, I can see a lot of people stopping eating a Crunchie because Cadbury has lost the royal warrant.

rumanah · 02/01/2025 20:42

Food, clothes, utilities, holidays. Everything except electronics unusually. Profiteering of a level I've personally never seen before (40's).

BashfulClam · 02/01/2025 21:11

DreamW3aver · 02/01/2025 18:24

Are you buying branded ones? The supermarket own brands ones don't cost anywhere near that

I haven’t found a supermarket brand I like yet. It is an example though.

ZippyDoodle · 02/01/2025 21:12

It's very annoying.

Maybe there needs to be some sort of legislation so that weight changes and ingredient changes are clearly advertised on the packaging.

Waitrose is generally pretty good but they changed their toilet roll a while ago and online customer reviews have absolutely slated the new product. It was very sneaky so does serve them right.

BashfulClam · 02/01/2025 21:12

Microgal · 02/01/2025 18:20

I was always under the impression that England is cheaper than Ireland. I pay €1.39 for 12 waffles.

No idea I don’t live in England I live in Scotland 🤷🏻‍♀️

borisjohnsonsforgottencondom · 02/01/2025 22:37

Cadburys, and a lot of other milk chocolate lately, tastes like chalk to me. And they want me to pay more!

My grievance is Pringles. £2.50 a pot. Often on "offer" for £1.50 when it used to be £1.

PickAChew · 02/01/2025 22:47

Bryonyberries · 02/01/2025 18:28

I'd pay a bit more for a proper 80's sized chocolate bar - there could well be a market for those who want a nostalgia hit! Something that isn't gone in two bites and has original ingredients rather than all the palm oil

Trans fats were so much more appetising.

LostGhost · 03/01/2025 08:33

ACynicalDad · 02/01/2025 19:19

Smaller portions are probably a good thing.

Portion size doesn't come into it?

It's about things either staying the same price but getting smaller.

Butter for example has always come in 200g blocks. Now it's 180g. Now i'm pretty sure no one is sitting there eating blocks of butter in one sitting but because there's less in the packet it doesn't last as long.

One of my close friends has a small baking business and since chocolate has both shrunk in size and got more expensive (used to be able to easily buy a 200g bar now its 180g). So now she needs to buy two 100g bars which is more expensive than 1 180g bar. She's closing her business down because she can't sustain the price rises anymore and there's only so much you can pass on before the customers stop buying.

rwalker · 03/01/2025 09:18

It’s an ether or
same price smaller pack or same size higher price
all equates to the same don’t know why people get excited about it

Frugalityfromnowon · 03/01/2025 09:19

rwalker · 03/01/2025 09:18

It’s an ether or
same price smaller pack or same size higher price
all equates to the same don’t know why people get excited about it

But we get neither. We are currently getting smaller packs, poorer ingredients and higher prices.

OP posts:
HyggeTygge · 03/01/2025 09:28

mitogoshigg · 02/01/2025 18:39

Buy less processed food. Vegetables in particular have not risen anywhere near as much as packaged foods. To the person complaining about potato waffles, try buying potatoes and making potato wedges instead

Lots of non-processed foods also suffer from annoyingly reduced pack sizes.

HyggeTygge · 03/01/2025 09:29

rwalker · 03/01/2025 09:18

It’s an ether or
same price smaller pack or same size higher price
all equates to the same don’t know why people get excited about it

I now need 1.5 tins of something to make a recipe. I don't have the option of 'same size but more expensive'.

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 03/01/2025 09:41

BashfulClam · 02/01/2025 17:35

Potato waffles , used to get 12 for £1 then the box reduced to 10 but the price was still £1 now it’s 10 for £2.35! Yes they are rubbish but one example I noticed.

Buy fresh potatoes, better and cheaper

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 03/01/2025 09:42

You have the power. Don't buy it if you are not happy, particularly the ultra-processed stuff

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