Watch Out for Innocent Smoothie 'Con'

[RuralLass]

Just wanted to warn you folks, in these 'tighter purse strings' days, that the product volumes of Innocent Smoothies have just changed. They used to do 1L sizes & have now introduced 750ml (25% less) &,for a handful of flavours, a bigger 1.25L. Watch out, though, 'cos the 750ml size is all but identical to the old 1L carton (mere mms diff - I wish I could upload the photo I've taken - it would make you hoot)
I bought 3 cartons & so have, in effect, got a full 750ml carton less than I'd expected. Oh & that was for the exact same money, of course. All supermarkets I've checked on line are selling new smaller version for same price as old 1L one, without mentioning size difference.

Loads of brands are doing it.

I like Innocent smoothie - pretty good ethics etc and will continue to buy them.

Make your own smoothies. Even I can manage it and I am crap of a morning.

1 cup of frozen fruit (Sainsburys basics berries are ideal and at a £1 a bag do at least 4 smoothies)
1 banana
1 cup fruit juice (have found non chilled not from concentrate much cheaper than chilled)
a little water or milk or yogurt to desired consistency

Chuck it all in a jug and blitz with a stick blender. Cheaper and fresher tasting.

anyone who pays £3.69 for 1.25l of any drink other than vintage champagne needs their head examined

Vintage champagne? Do you know how much a pint of beer costs?

Naah, don't drink :o

I did of course think of about a dozen drinks that cost more than £3.69 but I'd already posted so I'm sticking with it!

The cardboard packs also have just 4 smoothies in now as opposed to 6.

I have always been dubious about innocent anyway- they are so big on their claims of 'real' fruit, but fail to promote the fact that often it's been frozen etc.

As if being bought out by cocacola wouldn't have changed them

Well that's because it is costing huge amounts more to produce it these days. In fact the whole juice industry exists on a knife edge atm. Would it have been so much better to pay 25% more for the same size?

And it's ridiculously overpriced anyway IMO. Eat fruit, drink water!

I am very extravagant... I buy the individual cartons.

Do I care? Nope.

Yes, it would have been better to say that costs have increased therefore we are having to put our prices up. That's no surprise these days. I just really hate the "we're doing it for your own good" spiel.

Prob due to brands like Inocent/Copella etc are now owned by big big corporations and are no longer small cottage style industries.

I remember reading that some are owned by Coca cola? SO dont think you are buying a niche product.

I personally dont buy this kind of drink as far to expensive. Also watch the ingedients not so inocent sometimes!

The Innocent ingredients are innocent though.

Coca cola are moving into juice and juice drinks production big time atm. Mind you if it often surprising to find out just how many of the smaller brands are owned by big multinationals, and many have been for years.

I think Nestle is a good example of that.

Its not even about how overpriced it is, it's the sneaky, trying to 'get one over on' duping of their customers. Talking about it on their website doesn't make up for keeping the packaging almost identical size but removing a quarter of the product in the hope that we won't notice.

I remember hearing that after the VAT rise Toblerone started to make their bars with one less pyramid as they didn't want them costing beyond the £1 mark as Poundland are one of their biggest stockists.

Sorry haven't read the whole thread but had to add this.

I've just mentioned the thread to DH who had been complaining about the size of them.

I said "Well, what about the Tesco own brand ones I bought the other week?"

He said "What tesco ones?"

I said "you know, the coconut and pineapples ones. Weird flavours I thought".

He siad "what, they're own brand, the ones which looked like sick ? I drank a stack of that"

Not quite the recommendation you're after perhaps but...