The Big Short: How Popular Consumer Products Are Shrinking
As if inflation isn’t enough to deal with, companies have decided to add insult to injury by shrinking products without lowering prices. It’s called “shrinkflation,” and it’s getting out of hand. While this sneaky tactic has been around for years, the current rise in costs has driven companies to downsize more of their products, from boxes of Kleenex to bottles of Gatorade. It’s clever because consumers aren’t likely to notice that a container is a few ounces lighter. But shoppers have taken notice — and so have we. Here’s a look at some of the products that have shrunk mysteriously in the past few months.
Related: Ways Companies Trick You Into Spending More Money
Original Size: 65 tissues per box
Shrinkflated Size: 60 tissues per box
We hope you don’t have any bad breakups planned for this summer, because Kleenex has downsized its box of tissues by five. While that may not seem like much, every last tissue counts when you’ve got a bad case of the blues or seasonal allergies.
Related: Viagra, Kleenex, and Other Products Originally Invented for Another Purpose
Original Size: 5.3 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 4.5 ounces
Just when we thought these tiny packs of yogurt couldn’t get any cuter, Chobani decides to make their Flips even smaller — at the expense of the consumer.
Related: Foods Americans Eat Now That They Never Heard of 20 Years Ago
Original Size: 340 sheets per roll
Shrinkflated Size: 312 sheets per roll
What difference does a few dozen sheets of toilet paper make? We don’t want to go there, but sometimes every sheet counts.
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Original Size: 51 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 43.5 ounces
Folgers got creative with this one. Thanks to recent advances in coffee beans — which people have been roasting and drinking since at least the 13th century — Folgers claims that its smaller container still makes the same amount of coffee.
Original Size: 32 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 28 ounces
PepsiCo, which owns Gatorade, also had a response to shrinkflation claims: Their switch to easier-to-hold smaller bottles was planned long before inflation hit, PepsiCo told The Associated Press. When the AP asked about the concurrent price increase, the company didn’t have an answer.
Original Size: 18 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 15.5 ounces
Fritos Scoops “Party Size” packets are now 2.4 ounces lighter. Make sure to account for that the next time you have people over — reduce your guest list by 14%.
Original Size: 12 fluid ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 10.4 fluid ounces
With Pantene downsizing its conditioner, it might be time to start using 2-in-1 shampoo. Of course, there’s no guarantee that that won’t be shrinkflated too.
Original Size: eight bars
Shrinkflated Size: seven bars
The next time you open this box of snack bars, you might be surprised to find seven instead of eight bars. At least seven is a lucky number.
Original Size: 11.3 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 9.75 ounces
With its cute, elven mascot, it’s hard to believe that Keebler would join in on the shrinkflation craze. Then again, Keebler is owned by Ferraro, the same company that downsized Nutella.
Original Size: 24 fluid ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 22 fluid ounces
Discerning shoppers might notice that Dove’s body wash is a tad lighter. One proposition from columnist Joe Blundo? Change the name from Dove to “Sparrow” to match the smaller product.
Original Size: 12 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 11.5 ounces
We can’t be too mad at Snyder’s for downsizing its pretzels by less than an ounce. That said, we don’t exactly like the idea of being misled, and this recent change coincided with a rebrand that looked like an attempt to obscure the change. Same great taste, smaller package.
Original Size: 8 ounces
Shrinkflated Size: 7.1 ounces
You’d think vegans would be above shrinkflation, but Daiya, the company behind a variety of non-dairy cheeses, has reduced the size of its vegan shreds by 0.9 ounces … and branded it as a new product.
Related: Ways to Save at the Grocery Store
