It is my sad duty to report that shrinkflation is worse than ever. Even after a storm of controversy and countless social media posts condemning the deceptive marketing practice. Is it time to make shrink-flation illegal?
The proof is right there on the shelf: These two packages of cheese
were side by side in the cooler, selling at the same price!…
As we lamented in our full post on this issue last week, shrinkflation is becoming more obvious, more shameless and more greedy. Shrinkages are becoming bolder, and manufacturers are becoming less concerned with concealing them from consumers…
‘Do they think we won’t notice?’
So reads the headline of the source post for our previous, larger story. I don’t think so. I think the manufacturers are persisting with – even accelerating – their shrinkflation activities out of desper-ation, to compete meaningfully in the face of higher and higher costs.
Some egregious examples…
A Lindt Truffles box only half full – barely full enough to fill the clear plastic window. Potato Chips that weighed 7.5 oz last month now weigh 5.5 ox – a 33.3 percent reduction. A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups mutli-pack reduced from 5 cups to 4 – a 20 percent reduction. A pack of Cheese shrunken from 30 oz to 24 oz – a 20 percent reduction.
Most of these products were sold in the same sized package as before the shrink, at the same price.
How do they get away with it?
Because it’s not technically illegal. If a manufacturer lists the correct weight and/or piece count on the package, they can put however much (or little) they want in the box or bag.
But it is deceptive. And other foodsphere players – notably Fast Food purveyors – have been taken to court in class action suits because they did not deliver what was advertised.
However… Shrinkflationists DO deliver what hey advertise. They just use deceptive packaging and illustrations to persuade you to buy the products.
The issue is deception…
What makes shrinkflation different from burger ‘over-promotion’ is that the packaged products are uniform in size and weight. And the burgers, fries, nuggets, onion rings, salads, nachos and other items doled out at restaurants are not. The theory is, those products are made from natural ingred-ients which do not come uniformly off an assembly line. They can’t reasonably be expected to conform to exact measurements.
But class action plaintiffs are winning their cases. Which, in my book, proves that what shrinkflationists are doing is illegal, under existing deceptive marketing and false advertising laws.
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?”
My questions for you:
Have you been ‘caught’ by shrinkflation?
If so… Were you…
- Mad as Hell?
- Aggravated?
- Mildly upset?
- Resigned to the new ‘reality’?
Would you abandon a brand that shortchanged you via shrinkflation?
Would you join a class action to protest shrinkflation?
Is it time to make shrinkflation officially illegal?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.