Shrinkflation is happening across grocery stores - here are 14 of the most extreme examples, from toilet paper to candy bars

Mary Meisenzahl,Grace DeanJul 16, 2021, 21:53 IST

General Mills shrunk its "family size" boxes from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Prices of consumer goods are increasing, from food to household necessities.
The term shrinkflation describes brands selling smaller amounts of product for the same price as before.
It's a sneaky way for brands to hide growing prices.

It's not just you - some grocery products are getting smaller.

Ingredients and manufacturing are getting more expensive thanks to inflation, and if they can't cut costs, companies have two main choices - hiking up prices or making their products smaller.

Many of these size changes are subtle, like making candy bars sold in multipacks smaller than ones being sold individually, or changing the shape of their products so you can barely notice the difference in weight.

"Do we raise the price knowing consumers will see it and grumble about it? Or do we give them a little bit less and accomplish the same thing? Often it's easier to do the latter," consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky told The Washington Post.

This phenomenon, known as shrinkflation, was already happening before the coronavirus pandemic, but is set to get worse because of rising labor costs and ingredients prices combined with soaring demand and a shipping crisis.

Clorox now includes 75 wipes per pack, down from 85, for the same price.

Jeff Greenberg / Contributor / Getty Images

Walmart Great Value Paper Towels dropped from 168 sheets per roll to only 120, while the price stayed the same.

Walmart increased paper towel prices. Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Frito-Lay just shrunk regular bags of Dorito's from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces. Both are currently for sale at Target for the same price.

Frito-Lay shrank Dorito bags. Target

Hershey cut down its 18 ounce pack of dark chocolate Kisses by almost two ounces.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Hefty's mega pack went from 90 bags to 80 bags, at the same price.

Courtesy of Hefty

A two-pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups used to weigh 1.6 ounces. Now it's just 1.5 ounces.

Julia Ewan/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Tubs of Pringles are different weights depending on the flavor in the US, but at Walmart they all cost the same.

Grace Dean/Insider

General Mills shrunk its "family size" boxes from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces - a drop of nearly 10%.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Tillamook decreased the size of its ice-cream cartons from 56 ounces to 48 ounces. It said that it didn't make the decision lightly, but that if it didn't make it cartons smaller it would have had to hike up prices because of rising ingredients costs.

Tillamook

Tillamook decreased the size of its ice-cream cartons from 56 ounces to 48 ounces. It said that it didn't make the decision lightly, but that if it didn't make it cartons smaller it would have had to hike up prices because of rising ingredients costs.

Some of Royal Canin's cans of cat food now weigh 5.1 ounces, down from 5.9 ounces - but they still cost the same. Royal Canin, a subsidiary of Mars, said that it had reduced some product sizes because of "unprecedented demand" for pet food during the pandemic.

Target

Some of Royal Canin's cans of cat food now weigh 5.1 ounces, down from 5.9 ounces - but they still cost the same. Royal Canin, a subsidiary of Mars, said that it had reduced some product sizes because of "unprecedented demand" for pet food during the pandemic.

Charmin toilet paper originally had 650 sheets per roll. It now only contains around half of that - and even its "Mega Rolls" and "Super Mega Rolls" don't have as many sheets as the original. The sheets have reportedly gotten smaller, too.

Amazon

Charmin toilet paper originally had 650 sheets per roll. It now only contains around half of that - and even its "Mega Rolls" and "Super Mega Rolls" don't have as many sheets as the original. The sheets have reportedly gotten smaller, too.

Cadbury changed the shape of its famous Dairy Milk bars in 2013 - and changed the size of them, too. The individual pieces now have rounded edges and contain nearly 10% less chocolate than before.

Lucy Lillystone

Cadbury changed the shape of its famous Dairy Milk bars in 2013 - and changed the size of them, too. The individual pieces now have rounded edges and contain nearly 10% less chocolate than before.

But Dairy Milk isn't the only product Cadbury, owned by Mondelez, has shrunk over the years. Chocolate bars it sells in multipacks weigh much less than ones it sells individually - and it announced plans to shrink down the size of multipack bars even further still.

Grace Dean/Insider via Tesco

But Dairy Milk isn't the only product Cadbury, owned by Mondelez, has shrunk over the years. Chocolate bars it sells in multipacks weigh much less than ones it sells individually - and it announced plans to shrink down the size of multipack bars even further still.

Mondelez also owns Swiss chocolate company Toblerone, which makes distinctively triangular chocolate bars. In 2014 it reduced the weight of its bars by 25% by adding more space between each piece - but reversed the decision two years later after public outcry.

Amanda Evertz/Spoon University

Mondelez also owns Swiss chocolate company Toblerone, which makes distinctively triangular chocolate bars. In 2014 it reduced the weight of its bars by 25% by adding more space between each piece - but reversed the decision two years later after public outcry.

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Shrinkflation is happening across grocery stores - here are 14 of the most extreme examples, from toilet paper to candy bars

Clorox now includes 75 wipes per pack, down from 85, for the same price.

Walmart Great Value Paper Towels dropped from 168 sheets per roll to only 120, while the price stayed the same.

Frito-Lay just shrunk regular bags of Dorito's from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces. Both are currently for sale at Target for the same price.

Hershey cut down its 18 ounce pack of dark chocolate Kisses by almost two ounces.

Hefty's mega pack went from 90 bags to 80 bags, at the same price.

A two-pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups used to weigh 1.6 ounces. Now it's just 1.5 ounces.

Tubs of Pringles are different weights depending on the flavor in the US, but at Walmart they all cost the same.

General Mills shrunk its "family size" boxes from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces - a drop of nearly 10%.

Tillamook decreased the size of its ice-cream cartons from 56 ounces to 48 ounces. It said that it didn't make the decision lightly, but that if it didn't make it cartons smaller it would have had to hike up prices because of rising ingredients costs.

Some of Royal Canin's cans of cat food now weigh 5.1 ounces, down from 5.9 ounces - but they still cost the same. Royal Canin, a subsidiary of Mars, said that it had reduced some product sizes because of "unprecedented demand" for pet food during the pandemic.

Charmin toilet paper originally had 650 sheets per roll. It now only contains around half of that - and even its "Mega Rolls" and "Super Mega Rolls" don't have as many sheets as the original. The sheets have reportedly gotten smaller, too.

Cadbury changed the shape of its famous Dairy Milk bars in 2013 - and changed the size of them, too. The individual pieces now have rounded edges and contain nearly 10% less chocolate than before.

But Dairy Milk isn't the only product Cadbury, owned by Mondelez, has shrunk over the years. Chocolate bars it sells in multipacks weigh much less than ones it sells individually - and it announced plans to shrink down the size of multipack bars even further still.

Mondelez also owns Swiss chocolate company Toblerone, which makes distinctively triangular chocolate bars. In 2014 it reduced the weight of its bars by 25% by adding more space between each piece - but reversed the decision two years later after public outcry.