I don’t intend to burden you with a long post today… Because I want you to visit the source post, and take the time you need to appraise it with a critical eye. It’s an update on shrinkflation – with even more-shocking examples than we posted previously…
One Redditor who contributed to the marathon post reported that they
decided to check the so-called ‘8 in.’ tortilla, above, ‘on a hunch’…
I was aghast to see, in Burger King’s own Whopper comparison photo, that their ‘new, softer’ bun is definitely smaller than the original one. I also measured the width of the new Whopper patty. In millimetres. It looked smaller, too. Bit it appears that turned out to be an optical illusion – possibly caused by the smaller bun.
After having posted a story about Lindt’s unashamedly shrinkflated packaging, I decided to see what other examples I could find. And came across a marathon post with more than 5 dozen examples, pictures and all.
More than just packaging
A comment on one of the source post items suggested that brands are not only shrinking their pro-duct. Some are shrinking their packages, as well. I remembered a chat I had some months ago with the store manager at my go-to supermarket about shrinkflation. He pointed out a major-brand Orange Juice in the cooler a few metres away from where we stood.
“Those bottles you see there will be replaced by this coming Monday, even if they don’t sell,” he confided. “We’re supposed to take them off the shelf over the weekend so they can’t be compared directly to the new bottles, which are noticeably shorter.” And the new ones were supposed to sell for the same price as the old ones.
My take
It’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous… The compiler/editor of the source post commented on the mini candy bar photo, top of page: “Can we even call these candies ‘fun size’ anymore? ‘Mild amusement’ size, perhaps?”
It’s clear that companies – especially food makers and packagers – have not learned their lesson from the public shaming they’e been getting for deceptive packaging and raw, unadulterated shrinkflation.
So, it’s all the more important that we all stay in touch with the issue. One good way would be to join, or at least visit regularly, the Reddit thread mentioned above…
~ Maggie J.