The Great 'Shrinking Food' Hunt

lynnemcf

Watchdog is discussing this ... they should re-name the show MoneySavingExpert Watchdog!

tidyingmargo

I noticed that the new Kenco refills are much more smaller than the jars and work out much more expensive than buying a new jar.

Was very annoyed when I noticed that one!!!

Genuine

For my lunch today I took the lid off a Lemon Cheesecake Muller Light yoghurt & the pot was just over half full - well below the usual portion. This was not the first time I noticed this either but I am going to weigh my next one as I am sure they have also shrunk.

curveykate

asda's lean mince beef used to be 500g but is now 400g and still the same price!!!

willbad79

mateyboy wrote: »

I think the supermarkets started it with their own branded label products
But maybe they was both in it together now there's a thought !

Whoever started it .... It is us the consumer who is paying more for less product .

Somebody should look into this it is A BIG CON

I work for a food manufacturer, and my job is to find products that we can label under our brand and sell to the supermarkets. A lot of the time, the shrinkage is driven by the supermarkets refusing to let us increase our prices. As the cost of raw materials, labour, energy, etc goes up the only way a profit margin can be maintained is by reducing the size.

However, it's also down to a bit of economic theory. If you increase the price, less people will buy. With a lot of snacks, the extra money made by selling things at a higher price is cancelled out by fact less people will buy it.

juniee

Boxed salads in Asda and Morrisons have shrunk.There used to be a big helping for 2 people plus some left over.Now there's not enough for 2 and you are lucky to get one small cherry tomato in them.You can tell because the box was filled to to top , now it's only half full.

juniee

denmal

Tesco did it with corned beef; 5 slices to 4

maman

New_Quay_Bear wrote: »

Hi all,
after reading these pages last night,I emailed Asda.Below is the reply I received today.


Good morning ,

Thank you for taking the time to email ASDA regarding the food downsizing as indicated on a website.

We always appreciate feedback regarding the services we offer, and always like to know what our customers think of the products we offer.

I will make sure that the buying team are made aware of this issue and will look into it accordingly.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

David Ragget.





I do have the links,but I am not allowed to post them yet,as I am a new poster.:beer:

Sami_Bee wrote: »

Who are these weirdos that don't like juice in 1l containers?!
I hope other juices don't start with the smaller size too, I already 'have' to buy my OH 6 x 1L of OJ a week:eek:

RHYSDAD wrote: »

As consumers though we have to fight back instead of moaning about it on here. Remember, every time another product messed with is bought it's another validation for Mr Tesco/Sainsbury/Asda etc to think "oh well, they don't seem to mind us reducing volume but not price, we'll keep on doing that!"
Leave the offending item on the shelf, moan at customer services, email head offices. These are the weapons we have and remember, supermarkets will use any manner of dirty tricks so don't think bad to fight dirty back.

I totally agree that we shouldn't take these rip-offs lying down but... I think the bland responses from Asda and Copella demonstrate how infuriating it can be writing to the companies concerned. Do they really care or are we a captive market because we all have to eat?

geordie_joe

maman wrote: »

Do they really care or are we a captive market because we all have to eat?

They don't care, but we are not a captive market. We don't have to eat the things they reduce in size.

Some people may think it is a waste of time writing and asking them why they do it etc. But I think if enough of us simply write and tell them we have stopped buying that product then the message will get through, as long as we actually stop buying the product.

Even better, a letter/email saying "Dear Mr Asda, you reduced the size of XYZ, so I have stopped buying it from you and now buy a similar product from Mr T"

Obviously you will change the names to suit the circumstances. And it doesn't have to be a letter to a supermarket, you can also write to Mr Heinz, Mr Branston or Mr kellogs.

jenniewb

geordie_joe wrote: »

They don't care, but we are not a captive market. We don't have to eat the things they reduce in size.

Some people may think it is a waste of time writing and asking them why they do it etc. But I think if enough of us simply write and tell them we have stopped buying that product then the message will get through, as long as we actually stop buying the product.

Even better, a letter/email saying "Dear Mr Asda, you reduced the size of XYZ, so I have stopped buying it from you and now buy a similar product from Mr T"

Obviously you will change the names to suit the circumstances. And it doesn't have to be a letter to a supermarket, you can also write to Mr Heinz, Mr Branston or Mr kellogs.

I think the unfortunate reality is that most people don't notice for several weeks/months and then its too late to really make a statement by stopping buying the item in question.

I think that the advertisement trading standards agency should impose a law that stores should advertise the smaller size if the overall packaging design has not changed considerably. Stores and brands seem to ride along the previous advertising of a product and almost hope we don't notice, its only as I am slightly OTT that I do scan everything I buy for calories, fat, sugar, weight and size before buying it. I'd imagine (and hope) there are not too many more as obsessive as me!
Brands don't think twice to let us know they have increased the volume of something, so why not the same when they shrink something? I think its an abuse of trust.