Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

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:

Augustus40 · 03/01/2025 09:53

Where I shop Pringles are c £1.90 in Asda.

Poundland even less.

roses2 · 03/01/2025 10:24

chickenwings2 · 02/01/2025 17:24

I'm annoyed about it too but what can we do? Jealous of everyone who stock piled olive oil

I did last year but its come down in price now!!

YellowPixie · 03/01/2025 10:42

What would you like "them" to do about it?

BashfulClam · 03/01/2025 11:19

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 03/01/2025 09:41

Buy fresh potatoes, better and cheaper

Show quote history

It’s not about whether fresh potatoes are better and cheaper it’s an example of shrinkflation. You know, the topic of the OP!

MrsSkylerWhite · 03/01/2025 11:21

What do you propose?

ZippyDoodle · 03/01/2025 14:06

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.

Pringles are one of the worst UPF foods you can buy so I would take the price increase as a good reason to give them up. Find something else to chomp on. I think potato crisps are marginally better and probably cheaper per kg.

ACynicalDad · 03/01/2025 23:34

LostGhost · 03/01/2025 08:33

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.

Show quote history

Frankly the same issues that your friend is having are the issues that the chocolate and butter companies are finding - maybe smaller cakes are the order of the day?

ManchesterLu · 03/01/2025 23:59

What do you expect though? Things are costing more, people have to charge more. They work out that people don't have extra money, so the only option is to make the portions smaller. You can clearly see price per kg etc on the price labels, so you just need to keep an eye on these so you know what you're paying.

RogueFemale · 04/01/2025 00:05

soupfiend · 02/01/2025 18:43

Potato waffles are not the same as potato wedges!!!

Why do people always try to change what people eat. If someone wants potato waffles, thats what they're going to buy and eat.

Show quote history

Sure, but then don't complain about the processed foods costing more.

People make suggestions of healthier options because they're healthier and cheaper.

FeegleFrenzy · 04/01/2025 00:06

Saw mini eggs today. £1.85 for 80g. Last year they were £1.20 and i think 85g. Isn’t 80g the weight of a mars bar? But double the price!

RogueFemale · 04/01/2025 00:07

Shrinkflation is arguably a good thing when it comes to the size of, say, a Mars Bar. They're about half the size they used to be. It's better if it means children are eating a lower volume of Mars Bars.

Jk987 · 04/01/2025 00:13

It's a godsend re: junk food and snacks. Surely they're doing us all a favour by making the chocolate bars smaller?

Turophilic · 04/01/2025 00:15

Frugalityfromnowon · 03/01/2025 09:19

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

Show quote history

Welcome to a post Brexit, climate change world with an added geopolitical instability cost of living crisis!

Weather is screwed; crops of major commodities fail; scarcity means prices rise. War in Ukraine puts wheat and sunflower oil in huge demand. Brexit increased import and export costs and the time it takes.

Just how do you expect us to have the same quality of goods in the same amounts for the same prices? We’re basically buggered.

Flip

1 2 3 4