I didn't really need to but I looked up the definition.

Shrinkflation: is a stealth practice where companies reduce a product's size, weight or quantity while keeping its retail price the same.

I'm sure you have seen it many times. The half gallon of ice cream is no longer a half gallon. Except Blue Bell thanks for hanging in there!

Went to the grocery last night, picked up one of my favorite snacks, a package of Fig Newtons, and Nabisco has done shorted me about a dozen Fig Newtons! Just pissed me off so I thought I would whine about it here!

Yeah, except it's not stealth, the customer's see it instantly! I know price of everything has gone up, just be straight up about it and raise the price. Shrinkflation is a chicken shit move! Rant over.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ibanda,

Yes, I agree that it's disingenuous and deceitful. I price things by the ounce so it doesn't slip by but I hate having to do so.

I also dislike the practice in restaurants - the serving portions are smaller. Or cheaper ingredients.

They all believe that holding a price constant is more important than anything else that they choose to vary instead.

One of my biggest peeves is when the replace "manufactured in usa" with "distributed by" - who the fuck cares who the distributer is - I want to know where something is made. I will buy something that is "made in usa with domestic and imported ingredients" over something that is just "distributed by" - at the least the former is more honest and up front.

Integrity and honesty are eroding - where's the thread on showing your age? I remember when integrity was a thing....

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:

The half gallon of ice cream is no longer a half gallon. Except Blue Bell.

Publix Premium (outstanding quality!) is still a full half gallon, around six bucks more or less, depending on whether it's on sale.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

One of my biggest peeves is when the replace "manufactured in usa" with "distributed by" - who the fuck cares who the distributer is..

Country of Origin (where manufactured) and distributor are two entirely separate things. Federal law -- FTC requirements -- mandate that the product label include basic information about the distributor. For example, you can check any can or package in your pantry, and see this information. There is no regulatory requirement to show where something is manufactured, although many items that are manufactured in the U.S.A. proudly display this (optional) information.

The US Dollar is worth less and less.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Country of Origin (where manufactured) and distributor are two entirely separate things. Federal law -- FTC requirements -- mandate that the product label include basic information about the distributor. For example, you can check any can or package in your pantry, and see this information. There is no regulatory requirement to show where something is manufactured, although many items that are manufactured in the U.S.A. proudly display this (optional) information.

Good to know although most of what I buy has "Product of" type labeling in addition to the "Distributed by" as I generally avoid products with unknown origin that only reflect distributor, especially food products.

I also dislike the practice where a "Product of" is indicated but if you dig deeper, the actual ingredients is from a different country. For example, a brand of tahini may indicate a product of country Y but the sesame seeds are actually sourced from chicom (not on label, you need to dig around the webz) - no go for me.

Is it so hard for companies to provide honesty sourcing information? I doubt it so they must be intentionally disingenuous and misleading in order to get the sale. And if so, bastards.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
....I also dislike the practice in restaurants - the serving portions are smaller. Or cheaper ingredients.

They all believe that holding a price constant is more important than anything else that they choose to vary instead.....

I'm seeing the smaller plates at restaurants regularly also. I've been living and working in a small Texas town that has two diners that have been in business for 50+ years.

One of them is slowly letting everything about the restaurant go, but is trying to hold the line on their $9 blue plate lunch special. They can't do it though so the cut the cornbread, one of the sides, and cut the little 2 to 3 bites of dessert. The can't hire any new staff cause they are cheap and the whole diner is going into a slow death spiral.

The other diner in town is more expensive but they keep everything up, have sharp people and a line of customers waiting to get in.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

Is it so hard for companies to provide honesty sourcing information?

It could be difficult, depending on the product. Many things that you buy have dozens, maybe hundreds, of components, that could be sourced from many different countries.

It's very possible that the company that puts all the components together and sells the finished product, might not buy the components directly from the original source; there might be many layers of wholesalers and distributors between the origin and the final assembly.

Fair point and agree - I wouldn't expect it of, say, a computer.

But food stuffs like tahini? Peanut butter? Vitamins? Coffee? Olive oil? I specifically and explicitly try to avoid food stuffs with any ingredients sourced from chicom or india given their history of malicious adulteration or subsitition, not to mention other factors.

Prior to Mom passing, she hand wrote a cookbook of family recipes from my maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother, and Mom. The changing is sizes is getting to be real PITA.

It really throws off the proportions when an ingredient came in a 32 oz jar when the recipe was written, but now it's sold as a 24 oz jar. It's wasteful to buy 2 jars and not use 2/3 of a jar just to have the right meat to veggie ratio.

Interesting. Sounds like a job for a spreadsheet or "AI" where you provide a recipe and ask it to adjust for changing a particular ingredient amount or number of servings.

I can see how that would be a pain. I like the recipe websites that allow you to adjust for serving size and then it spits out adjusted ingredient amounts.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Interesting. Sounds like a job for a spreadsheet or "AI" where you provide a recipe and ask it to adjust for changing a particular ingredient amount or number of servings.

The problem is a pound of beef is still a pound of beef. Sure, I could buy 12 oz beef to go with the 24 oz can, but then the recipe makes 1 less serving. The leftovers are amazing so they're reducing my joy by 25% if I make a smaller portion.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Fair point and agree - I wouldn't expect it of, say, a computer.

But food stuffs like tahini? Peanut butter? Vitamins? Coffee? Olive oil? I specifically and explicitly try to avoid food stuffs with any ingredients sourced from chicom or india given their history of malicious adulteration or subsitition, not to mention other factors.

not sure about now, don't really look, but when I was in the gro biz, most food had to have a COOL label somewhere (Country Of Origin Label)

we had to have them on all the produce signage,

and I seem to remember it was on the beef as well, and seafood,

made in the USA was the default, if it was produced, grown and or harvested here, the label could be blank

lol thinking about the churn this may cause restaurants.

Re: “Shrinkflation is a chicken shit move”

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quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

They all believe that holding a price constant is more important than anything else that they choose to vary instead.

I believe that the companies have solid data supporting it. The customer has probably proven to be less likely to walk away if there's shrinkflation than if the price were raised.

In the airline biz they found absolutely that price is by far the deciding factor for most customers. Even a $1 base price difference will decide which flight or airline a customer chooses. That's why coach seats are ever more cramped together and there are no meals. You may even pay for any snack. You definitely pay for choosing your seat and for checking a bag. Passengers bitch, but they chose the cheapest ticket.

The premium customers are not so price sensitive, and this is where the profit is. Coach customers pay the fuel bill. Pack 'em in as densely as possible for the lowest price possible. Premium customers are more concerned with other priorities, and will pay whatever the ticket costs.

From what I see at our grocery store, premium brands have become quite a bit more expensive than basic brands. Their customers don't look at $/ounce.

Bottom line is the customers as a group are getting what they prefer, or what they least dislike.

I think price elasticity may vary a bit by product types and market conditions. But generally agree with the notion that wealthy shoppers are less price sensitive. Then there are value shoppers, brand loyal shoppers and price sensitive shoppers; each with their general behavior subject to market conditions.

I tend to be a mix depending on product type. I can say that I am not forgiving of deceptive practices. For example, if you try to deceive or hide undesirable country of origin, I’m not buying and not coming back.

Personally, I’d rather they just raise prices. I’d be pissed if I paid constant prices and then realize that I’m now getting less than before. That being said, some net weights are sometimes too much. Like I don’t need 20 Oz of tortilla chips for taco night, I just need 14 oz so iso-price with reduced net weight is actually fine for me.

Agree with just raising prices and keeping portions the same. Went to a restaurant yesterday we used to love. Prices went up, we get it. But portions were damn near 1/2 the size they used to be.

Raise prices due to market conditions, sure. Decrease portion size to keep the prices reasonable, sure. But to raise prices AND reduce portion size? We scanned the menu, and prices went up across the board 10 to 11 dollars. Not insignificant. The shrink in portion size was also not insignificant, almost by half! We won't be back.

Quality, Quantity, and Cost are the trinity.

Close friends who owned a local BBQ restaurant that I ate at regularly for over 30 years and was regarded as one of the best ones in town always agonized over this and always gave into cost. They kept the quality and the quantity the same and raised prices as necessary. They felt that their customers didn’t become loyal because they were the cheapest. It served the business well up to when they retired.