Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Worst/ craziest examples of shrinkflation?

131 replies

BluebellBlueballs · 15/02/2023 07:37

Manufacturers, we are not stupid. We know you are making everything smaller to look like we are paying the same or only a small increase in price for the same goods.

But have boxes of chocolate eggs ever come on anything less than six in a Bix? Not in all of time. Until yesterday when I got a box of oreo eggs which now has FIVE in the box.

And Toblerones are supposed to be a row of lovely peaks. Now the peaks have big fat valleys between them.

Anyone have any other examples of this?

OP posts:
PauliesWalnuts · 15/02/2023 10:56

The small bags of Mini Eggs are so small now it's literally not worth buying them. I do get the big ones at £3.50 but not many people sell them.

isthismylifenow · 15/02/2023 11:00

Dogsitterwoes · 15/02/2023 10:24

Tesco 'Aldi price match' Pringles tubes are much smaller than the standard non price matched tubes a few inches down the shelf.

Pringles. Yes.

We bought some recently, it is not an item we get very often.

I could not get my hand inside the tube. You have to tip them out now.

ReviewingTheSituation · 15/02/2023 11:07

12BottlesOfVintageChampagne · 15/02/2023 08:12

Couldn't work out why my cats had suddenly become ravenous beasties. Turns out that Whiskas have quietly changed their pouch size from 100g to 85g. Poor creatures were on an accidental diet!

I hadn't noticed this - no wonder ours is polishing off pouches at the speed of light.
This is doubly annoying as the price has also gone up hugely over the past year - a box of 40 used to be £10, but now it's hard to get it for less than £13.

bussteward · 15/02/2023 11:17

I think some of these are made up/perception. Not the change in grams or number in a packet, but Toblerone would have to design and manufacture new moulds and change the machinery settings to drop in less chocolate to match the new mould. All of which costs money, Vs just increasing the price. And if you can’t get your hand into a Pringles tube it’s far more likely you’ve eaten too many Pringles than they’ve shrunk the tube…

HildasLostSock · 15/02/2023 11:22

Mutipack bars of chocolate e.g. a 4 pack of double deckers bought one for the first time in years the other day, they look like "fun size" now. They like to roll out the "customer demand" line but who wants to pay the same (or more) for less product?!! I get that costs are rising but packets/quantities are shrinking so much I almost wonder if there will be anything left to sell/in 20 years time will that 200g bar be 20g (i.e. sharing bars no longer exist or the 20g be marketed as a sharing bar) and will anyone bother buying it. I seem to remember that when I was a kid my parents were able to buy a 1kg tub of choc/quality street at Christmas but quantities have gone down so much that I'm doubting my memory!

Augend23 · 15/02/2023 11:26

bussteward · 15/02/2023 11:17

I think some of these are made up/perception. Not the change in grams or number in a packet, but Toblerone would have to design and manufacture new moulds and change the machinery settings to drop in less chocolate to match the new mould. All of which costs money, Vs just increasing the price. And if you can’t get your hand into a Pringles tube it’s far more likely you’ve eaten too many Pringles than they’ve shrunk the tube…

No this actually was a thing for toblerone:

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/20/toblerone-to-revert-to-original-shape-but-with-bigger-size-and-price

Moonlightsonatas · 15/02/2023 11:29

Packs of Mini Eggs, feels like you only get about 20 eggs.

Colourinsidethelines · 15/02/2023 11:29

Frazzles used to come in a multipack of 8 bags for £1. Now it’s 6 bags for £1.25. Packs of 5 annoy the hell out of me when it’s crisps, cakes etc, I’ve 3 kids so a pack isn’t even 2 each.

IwasToldThereWouldBeCake · 15/02/2023 11:36

Is there less in roll on Mitchum deodorant? It seems to run dry so quickly, like it has evaporated.

DiamondApricot · 15/02/2023 11:39

My favourite braeburn apples, another 5 in a bag when it used to be 6 😭

Surely2023IsTheYearForMyRainbowBaby · 15/02/2023 11:40

12BottlesOfVintageChampagne · 15/02/2023 08:12

Couldn't work out why my cats had suddenly become ravenous beasties. Turns out that Whiskas have quietly changed their pouch size from 100g to 85g. Poor creatures were on an accidental diet!

Webbox pouches are still 100g although it is a grain free food and I think slightly cheaper than Felix food too.

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 15/02/2023 11:48

Tesco shredded ham, was 180g for £2.50, now 100g for £2.25.

But still says it's 2 servings!!

daffodilandtulip · 15/02/2023 12:03

Brought a normal sized pack of bacon from asda the other day - it had three slices in.

Sliced bread - used to have to turn it around halfway to make it all toast, now a whole slice fits in the toaster.

CC4712 · 15/02/2023 12:03

I think current boxes are even smaller now, as this is an old pic!

Worst/ craziest examples of shrinkflation?
blobby10 · 15/02/2023 12:07

Has anyone else noticed that Cadburys Mini Eggs themselves have got smaller? I had a little box last night and the eggs were SO tiny! I'm glad for my ever expanding waistline but sad that the chocolatey taste has not only gone bleugh but doesn't last as long!

BlondeBombshelf · 15/02/2023 12:42

Agree with all of these. Toffee crisps are so skinny that they’re almost see through these days 😢 I bought a pack of Scampi the other day which was £4. It had EIGHT pieces of scampi in it!! We ended up having a couple of fishfingers with it. There was definitely more in there last time we bought it. I think that was the Youngs Gastro brand, won’t be buying again.

fruitandfibreg · 15/02/2023 12:50

I had a gold bar the other day: it was TINY

WhatCanWeDoNext · 15/02/2023 12:56

bussteward · 15/02/2023 11:17

I think some of these are made up/perception. Not the change in grams or number in a packet, but Toblerone would have to design and manufacture new moulds and change the machinery settings to drop in less chocolate to match the new mould. All of which costs money, Vs just increasing the price. And if you can’t get your hand into a Pringles tube it’s far more likely you’ve eaten too many Pringles than they’ve shrunk the tube…

They definite changed toblerone…

Worst/ craziest examples of shrinkflation?
Danikm151 · 15/02/2023 12:57

Double deckers in a multipack are now 2 bites max

medianewbie · 15/02/2023 12:59

My local chippy. Small bag of chips up from £2.50 to £3.50. AND 1/3 smaller, at least :(

Original poster
BluebellBlueballs · 15/02/2023 13:00

Yes, I've noticed the multipavks of chocolate bars are teeny, like the fun size ones of yore.

OP posts:
Wafflehouse · 15/02/2023 13:02

I agree with this on some things but the boxes of Creme eggs have been 5 packs for at least a couple of years now and whoever said gold bars used to come in 3 parts, they never have they’re meant to be a gold bullion bar so have always been a solid block. I do agree that they’re smaller and not as good as they used to be but the shape hasn’t changed.

WolfFoxHare · 15/02/2023 13:15

When they say it's due to customer demand, it's because they ask leading questions. "Would you like our product to be be less fattening?" so they reduce the size of the portions etc etc.

xogossipgirlxo · 15/02/2023 13:16

isthismylifenow · 15/02/2023 11:00

Pringles. Yes.

We bought some recently, it is not an item we get very often.

I could not get my hand inside the tube. You have to tip them out now.

Show quote history

Tube isn't narrower now, it's just shorter.

Johnnysgirl · 15/02/2023 13:19

But have boxes of chocolate eggs ever come on anything less than six in a Bix? Not in all of time. Until yesterday when I got a box of oreo eggs which now has FIVE in the box
They switched to five a couple of years ago. When the howls of outrage started, they claimed they'd reduced the number in response to public demand 🤣🤣🤣
I'm assuming their Press Officer was moved quietly on.

Swipe left for the next trending thread