Shrinking Products – Paying the Same for Less

If you've ever wondered if your shopping cart seems a little lighter than it used to when leaving the grocery store -- chances are it is. Companies facing the squeeze of rising costs for materials and packaging are quietly downsizing products but keeping prices the same.

Jessie Bullock noticed this when she picked up a loaf of Dempster's Whole Grain bread recently.

"As soon as I picked it up off the shelf I thought this seems lighter and shorter. When I got home I checked and it was 80 grams less and had one less slice and the slices were also thicker."

Bullock says she makes sandwiches for her church and says as loaves shrink she needs to buy more of them to make the same number of sandwiches. Bullock says "If we are making sandwiches for 100 people we now have to buy 13 loaves instead of 10."

Another CTV viewer sent in a photo showing that No Name Mustard had shrunk in size from 500 ml to 400 ml -- but the price had stayed the same.

Shrinking product sizes are nothing new. Companies have often tried to hide prices hikes by making products smaller. Anne Sutton contacted CTV News 10 years ago when she first noticed toilet paper rolls were shrinking. Now companies have double rolls -- which aren't that much larger than what normal roll sizes used to be.

Orange juice, deodorant, diapers, tissues, mayonnaise, cereal, cheese and pasta have all been downsized. Companies blame rising costs for manufacturing, packaging and raw materials. Linda Smith, a spokesperson for Maple Leaf Foods which makes Dempster's Whole Grain bread says it has received complaints from consumers about the smaller loaves. She says the loaves were made smaller as a result of the company having to standardize bread pans. The company also says its own surveys found that consumers prefer thicker slices.

So the next time you go shopping pay attention to unit pricing which can give you a more accurate indication of how much your getting for your money. Watch out for shrinking products as well as you may be paying the same or more – for less.

Key Points:

  • The trend in shrinking products has been seen in everything ranging from cheese and bread to detergent and toilet paper
  • For the two versions of the PC pasta sauce, the 700 mL bottle cost $2.79 while the one with 650 mL packaging cost $3.19
  • The downsizing can also have an effect on the preparation of various recipes due to the changes in product size
  • Many companies blame skyrocketing commodity costs and smaller families but some market the changes as new eco-friendlier packaging

Some Products that have recently been downsized:

  • PC Pasta Sauce (700 mL and 650 mL) – both versions
  • Miracle Whip (890 mL down from 950 mL)
  • Rougemont Apple Juice (1.05L down from 1.36L)
  • Tropicana Orange Juice (1.75L down from 1.89L)
  • Old South Orange Juice (330 mL down from 355 mL)
  • Kellogg's Corn Pops (345 g down to 375 g)
  • Huggies Diaper Wipes (184 wipes down from 208)
  • Cottonelle Double 12-rolls