# Product Shrinkage?



## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

Last week while doing the supermarket shopping I noticed that a number of brands had repackaged their products. It wasn't a design makeover but the size and shape of the packing has changed and this has led to a decrease in volume. 

In one example it went from 250 grams to 200 grams. 

Another example case of a box of pasta from 500g to 490g? Upon inspection I noticed that with the new slimed down packaging they could fit more on the shelves. Even allowing from the change from pounds to kilos, a pound equals 453 grams, the product does not reflect a change that would position the product in both the Imperial and Metric markets. That is if the company in question does package its products for specifics markets. It only reflected the shelf space allocated to it. The price change in both products didn't equate to diminished weight of the product. 

It wasn't just in food items either. A couple of brands of deodorant had resized but with the price of unit not corresponding to reflect its decreased volume. The supermarket I went to was one of our national chains. But in one case the product came from Australia and the other from Italy. The company in question is owned by a US parent and has stores globally. 

My question is this a global trend? Are we now paying more for less?


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

ajo said:


> My question is this a global trend? Are we now paying more for less?


Yes; I think producers are preparing for stagflation. I would expect to see more "fractionals."


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

The price should be the same, but the quantity has decreased. The ice cream plant I work at had to make a decision; raise prices, go smaller, or use lesser quality ingrediants. We wouldn't waiver on the ingrediants so we had to go smaller. Researched pointed towards people not wanting to pay more, and making the product smaller is less noticable. All our competitors already went 48 ounce for a year+ anyways. We went from a 56 ounce rectangle to a 48 ounce sqround; that 250 gram to 200 gram example though is quite a bit. Some customers did complain, but most did not.


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## Beresford (Mar 30, 2006)

I'm seeing this quite a bit. Other examples are decreased portion sizes at fast-food restaurants (particularly noticeable in salads), and decrease in quality of product (e.g., chicken thighs in our local chicken fast food outlet has now been changed to chicken backs). Canned tuna is also another good example--there is now more water in the cans, less tuna.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

Consumer products, especially food, have been shrinking for years now. Hershey bars are about 2/3 the size they were a generation ago, and 24 pack of Coke is usually an 18 pack now.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

StevenRocks said:


> Consumer products, especially food, have been shrinking for years now. Hershey bars are about 2/3 the size they were a generation ago, and 24 pack of Coke is usually an 18 pack now.


and now they sell those tiny cans of soda,about the size of your pinkie in the supermarkets.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

Yup, it's been happening for years. I particularly dislike the shrinking of the half-gallon size of ice cream. Do they really think we won't notice we're paying the same or higher price for less?


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## chatsworth osborne jr. (Feb 2, 2008)

jackmccullough said:


> Do they really think we won't notice we're paying the same or higher price for less?


Yes. You can fool most of the people most of the time.
https://consumerist.com/tag/shrink-ray/


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^Yes, well thanks for bringing this to my attention!


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

chatsworth osborne jr. said:


> Yes. You can fool most of the people most of the time.
> https://consumerist.com/tag/shrink-ray/


This was an interesting site. Thanks!


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## Phinn (Apr 18, 2006)

They do the same thing with money. 

When you give people less and less product in the containers you sell on store shelves, people call you a cheat and a fraud. 

When you debase the currency making it worth less and less, you get a seat on the board of the Federal Reserve, a job as an adviser in the White House, and a Ph.D. from Harvard. 

Although you are still a cheat and a fraud.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

chatsworth osborne jr. said:


> Yes. You can fool most of the people most of the time.
> https://consumerist.com/tag/shrink-ray/


Had a look at this site although its US specific I was surprised to see the lead article about diary products. We have had a two fold assault by the big chains on diary products in the past couple of years.

First the drought, which is in either its seventh year or the tenth year of a a hundred year drought depending on where you get your information, is acutely affecting prime diary production areas.

Secondly the major chains driving down the price at the farm gate for milk. And of course their margins on prices are not cut to reflect the decreased price. Diesel has been a killer the last couple of years, they pass that on when ever they can.

Thankfully Aldi, a German chain which opened up here in the last couple of years does provide cheaper organic milk and diary. For example a chain sells dairy organic milk at $2.76 a litre and Auldi $1.99. I switched to organic milk about ten years ago because it tasted like milk, we used to get milk in pint bottles delivered fresh daily and this was in Sydney, but that was back in the 70's when we still had milkos and glass bottles.

Another example is eggs, now you can get ten eco friendly eggs for the price of a dozen battery but a free range dozen at the growers market is still cheaper than the dozen battery hen eggs you buy in a supermarket.

I am constantly left feeling like some cash cow that is milked every time I walk into a supermarket.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

jackmccullough said:


> Yup, it's been happening for years. I particularly dislike the shrinking of the half-gallon size of ice cream. Do they really think we won't notice we're paying the same or higher price for less?


How much is a half gallon ice cream these days?


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## newtothis (Apr 13, 2009)

Beresford said:


> Other examples are decreased portion sizes at fast-food restaurants (particularly noticeable in salads), and decrease in quality of product (e.g., chicken thighs in our local chicken fast food outlet has now been changed to chicken backs).


And of course the Double Cheeseburger at McDonald's is no longer a $1! It's been replaced with the one-slice McDouble and the Double Cheeseburger is 20 cents more!


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

Howard said:


> How much is a half gallon ice cream these days?


Any truth to the rumor that the cold contributed to package shrinkage? :icon_smile_wink:


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## 16412 (Apr 1, 2005)

Nothing new. This all happened with the gas shortage back in the 70s. Or was it the 60s? 

It is a shame to see less. I'd rather see the price jump up and down then what they have done in the past and are doing now.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

newtothis said:


> And of course the Double Cheeseburger at McDonald's is no longer a $1! It's been replaced with the one-slice McDouble and the Double Cheeseburger is 20 cents more!


Because people are paying more for cheese which is why it's 20 cents more.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

ksinc said:


> Any truth to the rumor that the cold contributed to package shrinkage? :icon_smile_wink:


No,It couldn't be.


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

ksinc said:


> Any truth to the rumor that the cold contributed to package shrinkage? :icon_smile_wink:


No, new packaging.


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## a tailor (May 16, 2005)

heres from a really old guy.
in the 30s a 5 cent candy bar was big enough to give any kid a tummy ache. 
and kill his apatite for supper.


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## PedanticTurkey (Jan 26, 2008)

It was probably made from real chocolate, too.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

2x4 ain't a 2x4 no more.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

a tailor said:


> heres from a really old guy.
> in the 30s a 5 cent candy bar was big enough to give any kid a tummy ache.
> and kill his apatite for supper.


My mother who was born in the 20's and told us all about growing up in the "Great Depresison," she used to tell us that you could buy a pound of boiled sweets , bulls eyes ect for a penny.

I can remember in the mid seventies buying a rum and coke at the Marble Bar in the Hilton in Sydney for a $1, and that was considered expensive, at a suburban pub a middie of draft beer was 25c.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

a tailor said:


> heres from a really old guy.
> in the 30s a 5 cent candy bar was big enough to give any kid a tummy ache.
> and kill his apatite for supper.


Now a candy bar is like $1.50.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

I think Whopper Jr's are getting smaller at Burger King,Has anyone been there lately?


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## fenway (May 2, 2006)

Howard said:


> How much is a half gallon ice cream these days?


You tell us. Why don't you walk inside Pathmark and take a look?


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

fenway said:


> You tell us. Why don't you walk inside Pathmark and take a look?


Sure and I'll report back here tomorrow afternoon.


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## rgrossicone (Jan 27, 2008)

This country has had it good for so long...is only a matter if time that things start going downhill for us...but downhill for us only brings us on par with the rest if the world. Honestly, looking at the "shape" of America, we could use a little waistline recession. I'm gload we're getting less for more, may keep some of us alive a little longer than if it stayed the same.

The nature of capitalism is to "roller-coaster"...high highs (Escalades, Quarter Pounder w/Cheese 2 for $2, Costco portions everywhere) and low lows (the Great Depression, inflation, $4 a gallon gasoline, popped real estate bubble).

Except for the rich...they're always on top of the roller coaster no matter where the rest if us are. Let them eat cake, and die young.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

We seem to be talking about two very different things - portion size and package size.

Portion sizes are starting to shrink after years of ridiculous expansion. When I was growing up, McDonald's had small, medium, and large. Suddenly, the old "large" was declared to be "medium," the "medium" was declared to be "small," and the "small" was declared to be "child sized." The new "large," without ice, would be about a liter of beverage. The drink sizes haven't changed, but the menus no longer push "super-sizing," although that's partly due to the embarrassing movie featuring that word in the title.

Package sizes have been subtly shrinking for decades. Few coffee companies put sixteen ounces of coffee into a bag or can; a sixteen-ounce can of vegetables is almost unhead of as well. Somehow, basic dairy products have been immune - a pound of butter is still a pound, and a gallon of milk is still a gallon. But a half-gallon of ice cream is now three pints...


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

Your right on that, the initial point I was making was that to increase volumes of product on supermarket shelves and hence greater turnover, the actual size of the product was shrinking. Here in Australia some products did increase in volume when we switched from Imperial to Metric measurements.

What I think is a rip off is the subtle lengths that producers go to achieve this, package redesign and thus deluding us into thinking that by paying more for less we are on a good deal. Most people I have spoken to haven't noticed the volume change in the product container. 

But they do notice the new improved packaging :crazy:


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

So we're actually paying for the size of the product now how much it is?


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## fenway (May 2, 2006)

Howard said:


> So we're actually paying for the size of the product now how much it is?


Screw the questions, Howard. How much was the half-gallon of ice cream?


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

fenway said:


> Screw the questions, Howard. How much was the half-gallon of ice cream?


I remember seeing $3.99-$4 for a half gallon.


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## Scoundrel (Oct 30, 2007)

Oh, I thought this was a completely different question!


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

And whatever became of those 3 Liter bottles of sodas we used to see in the past?


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

Howard said:


> And whatever became of those 3 Liter bottles of sodas we used to see in the past?


I'm guessing that the manufacturers either realized that larger bottles had lower profit margins, or people felt like damn pigs buying that much Coke at once.

(Back in the 60s, it was "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that's a lot" and a one-quart bottle of Coke was "Family size." These days the standard single-person soda is twenty ounces.)


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

Miket61 said:


> I'm guessing that the manufacturers either realized that larger bottles had lower profit margins, or people felt like damn pigs buying that much Coke at once.
> 
> (Back in the 60s, it was "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that's a lot" and a one-quart bottle of Coke was "Family size." These days the standard single-person soda is twenty ounces.)












This must be a lot of soda. ^Who's going to drink that much?


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## fenway (May 2, 2006)

Howard said:


> This must be a lot of soda. ^Who's going to drink that much?


When I lived down south about 20 years ago, I would often find that two liters of Coke was $1.09; three liters was $0.99. I never understood that style of pricing.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

fenway said:


> When I lived down south about 20 years ago, I would often find that two liters of Coke was $1.09; three liters was $0.99. I never understood that style of pricing.


I mean 3 liters back then should've cost more because of the size of the bottle,3 liters should mean more money.


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