Latest news with #shrinkflation
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Why a single photo of a Magnum ice cream has Aussies up in arms
A disappointed Aussie has questioned if his favourite ice cream has shrunk in size after he bought a Magnum from his local petrol station. The man placed his hand beside the ice cream to give Aussies a size reference. 'Is this a special servo size or is this just how big a magnum ice cream is now?' he captioned a photo of the sweet treat on Reddit. 'Haven't had a Magnum ice cream in ages. I swear these were three times bigger when I was a kid. It's about as big as a couple fingers now.' Aussies were quick to weigh in to the Magnum size debate. 'What used to be the mini became the regular a long time ago,' one person claimed. 'Absolutely not worth the purchase given the quality also dropped massively from when they were first released.' 'Oh old school magnum ego were the go-to ice cream,' a second agreed. 'The chocolate is much thinner now. I bought two at the footy the other night for $7 each and they were very underwhelming,' a third said. 'Wait, seriously? I stopped getting them years ago after one of the price hikes, but now they only sell the minis and call them regular ones? What a rort,' a fourth added. 'Kept the same overpriced tags and shrank,' another commenter agreed. It came as another upset Aussie claimed they only received 317g of peas in a 500g bag of McCain frozen baby peas they purchased at Woolworths. 'I've heard of shrinkflation, but really?' they captioned a photo of the peas on a scale. 'Guess I'm keeping receipts for longer from now on.' Aussies were divided over whether Woolworths or McCains, the manufacturer of the frozen peas, were at fault over the weight discrepancy. 'Don't Woolworths buy these products to sell to us? Maybe they should do a better job ensuring the quality of what they offer including that consumers are getting what they are paying for,' one person wrote. 'Somebody procures these things. There should be quality control at both levels, I'd be complaining to both.' But another defended Woolworths, writing: 'What do you expect, someone to weigh every single item that is on the shelf?!' 'It's on Woolies to ensure it's delivered within temperature and not tampered with and it's on Woolies to report customer complaints to the supplier/relevant food authorities,' a third person argued.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Customers react to KitKat's shrinkflation
Kitkat fans have snapped after shrinkflation hit the teatime chocolate favourite, with multipacks getting smaller and more expensive. Some packs have shrunk by three whole bars while the price has gone up 40p or more. Packs of 21, which were previously available for £3.60 in Tesco , now contain just 18 bars but now cost £4. Nine packs, which were £1.95 or £1.30 with a Tesco Clubcard in April, are down to eight and cost £2.20. The change has been spotted by shoppers who have railed at the latest example of shrinkflation, where products shrink in size but the price remains the same or goes up. It comes after multipacks of Cadbury Twirl chocolate bars recently shrunk from 10 to 9, Dairy Milk Little Bars went from four to six and packs of Freddos are now four from five. The British Retail Consortium said global cocoa prices are around three times higher at the moment than in 2022, after being badly affected by poor harvests in parts of Africa. Nestlé said: 'Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products. 'As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. 'To maintain the same high quality, delicious products that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the price, weight or size of some of our products. 'Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers.' The manufacturer confirmed the recommended retail price (RRP) of the packs had changed from £5.09 for the old 21-packs to £5.50 for 18-packs, while the old nine packs had gone from £2.25 to £2.50 for eight.
The Sun
07-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Fury as ‘disgusting' Cadbury cuts size of popular multipack from six bars to four but keeps price the SAME
CHOC-lovers are fuming after Cadbury reduced the size of its Dairy Milk Little Bars multipacks by a third. New packs of four are being sold for £1.40, even though packs of six cost the same last month. 1 The change has been blasted by shoppers, including many parents who bought them as kids' snacks. One fumed on the Tesco website: 'Advertised as new, only thing new is you get 4 instead of 6!! For the same price. Disgusting!' A second said: 'Stop reducing how much is in the packet and charging the same price!!!' A third added: 'Was a six pack now a four pack for the same price, a third less chocolate, unacceptable shrinkflation.' It comes after Cadbury reduced packs of Freddos from five to four and Cadbury Dairy Milk multipacks were cut from nine bars to seven. Cadbury said: 'We understand the economic pressures that consumers continue to face and any changes to our product sizes is a last resort for our business. 'However, as a food producer, we are continuing to experience significantly higher input costs across our supply chain, with ingredients such as cocoa and dairy, which are widely used in our products, costing far more than they have done previously. 'Meanwhile, other costs like energy and transport, also remain high. This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges 'As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our Cadbury Dairy Milk Little Bars multipacks so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect.' Dan Coatsworth, analyst at the investment firm AJ Bell, explained: 'The cost of producing chocolate has gone up a lot in recent years, driving up prices and prompting firms to make products smaller. We've outdone ourselves with this one' say Cadbury Ireland as they reveal new limited edition bar 'coming soon 'When production costs rocket, companies only have a limited range of options. 'They can pass on the costs to the customer through higher prices, which is difficult with a product like chocolate where people are often looking for a cheap treat. 'Another option is to reduce the size of the product in order to reduce the manufacturing cost for each bar of chocolate. Or they can try a combination of the two. 'As a last resort, companies may have to tolerate lower profit margins, especially if consumers refuse to tolerate price rises and stop buying.' The British Retail Consortium said global cocoa prices are around three times higher than in 2022, after being badly affected by poor harvests in parts of Africa.
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Freddo chocolate hit by shrinkflation AGAIN as Cadbury slashes the number of bars in £1.40 multipack
Freddo, the chocolate bar often jokingly cited as a bellwether for rising prices in the UK, has become the victim of 'shrinkflation' once again amid a cut to its multipack offering. The 18g chocolate bar, produced by Cadbury Dairy Milk, was once priced at 10p per unit but has gradually risen in cost over the years - much to the dismay of chocoholics in the UK. The single confectionery item, which now costs 35p, has been held up among foodies as the epitome of inflation and a commentary on the state of the British economy. Now, it has now been revealed that multipacks of the bar have shrunk in size by 20 per cent - but the price of the packs remain the same. Analysis by The Grocer has revealed multipacks of Cadbury Freddo have been reduced in volume. The publication revealed that former Freddo 5x18g and Freddo Caramel 5x19.5g multipacks were both priced at £1.40 in Tesco, as of 28 May 2025. But now the number of individual bars in packs have been slashed, with each now only containing four Freddo treats rather than the previous standard five pack. Tesco is now selling Freddo 4x18g and Freddo Caramel 4x19.5g multipacks at the exact same price of £1.40. At the time of writing, Morrisons is selling both old multipacks of five, and new ones of four, for £1.40. Meanwhile in Sainsbury's, multipacks are still currently five bars large, and are retailing for £1.40. A spokesperson for Cadbury owner Mondelez confirmed to the publication that manufacturers had cut pack sizes by 20 per cent, blaming 'significantly higher input costs' for the volume decrease. They said cocoa and dairy costs were now 'far more' and that energy and transport prices were still high too. The statement read: 'This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges.' 'As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo multipacks so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect. ' Just months earlier, fans of the confectionery were left fuming after the 18g frog bar was spotted on sale for a whopping £1. Analysis by the publication revealed that former Freddo 5x18g and Freddo Caramel 5x19.5g multipacks were both pries at £1.40 in Tesco, as of 28 May 2025. But now the number of individual bars in packs have been slashed, with each now only containing four Freddo treats rather than the previous standard five pack Last year, to celebrate 200 years of Cadbury, the supermarket giant Sainsbury's temporarily returned the bars to their original price of 10p for Nectar card users. It comes just two months after the confectionery giant reduced the size of its Twirl multipacks in a similar move to lessen the impact of soaring manufacturing costs. The publication reported that new packs of Twirls contained nine instead of ten chocolate bar. Moreover, Mondelez recently replaced 110g packs of Cadbury Crunchie Rocks, Twirl Bites, Wispa Bites, and Oreo Bites with 100g bags. Last month, Cadbury announced it is launching a new chocolate bar in the UK. The latest offering from the Birmingham-based confectionary giant is the Iced Latte Dairy Milk chocolate bar. According to the brand, the snack combines cream and biscuit pieces alongside its Dairy Milk chocolate. However, the new bar - which is set to launch in early June - won't be around forever. As a limited edition release, fans of the brand will have to make sure they get their hands on the bar quickly, or they risk missing out on the new flavour. The bar has a unique twist and it's nothing to do with the flavour - it's all about the packaging. Cadbury's upcoming bar is wrapped in a temperature-activated packet, which means that when the bar is chilled in the fridge, the packaging transforms. The brand has used thermochromic technology, to make the classic Cadbury purple change to a deep blue when it gets cold. As well as its new flavour, Cadbury will be offering four limited edition Dairy Milk bars in the colour-changing packaging. They will be sold under what it's calling its 'Cadbury Dairy Milk Chilled' range.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Calls to legally require supermarkets to reveal ‘shrinkflation' to customers
Supermarkets would be forced to tell their customers if they want them to 'pay more for less' under proposals designed to tackle 'shrinkflation'. The Liberal Democrats want government legislation amended to legally require large supermarkets to inform shoppers when the quantity of goods within a pre-packaged product has decreased thereby increasing the price per unit of measurement. Details of the changes would need to be attached or placed alongside the product for a 60-day period, according to the amendment tabled to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. Digestive biscuits, butter, crisps and chocolate bars were among the items found to have decreased in size while their unit cost increased, according to 2024 research by Compare the Market. MPs could be asked to vote on the Lib Dem proposal on Wednesday when the Bill returns to the Commons for its report stage. Lib Dem trade spokesman Clive Jones said: 'The scourge of shrinkflation needs to be exposed. 'Shoppers have been hammered during a cost-of-living crisis all while massive companies and big supermarket chains are forcing them to pay more for less to protect their bottom lines. 'They need to be called out on it and for shoppers to know when they are at risk of being ripped off. 'The Government should accept this Liberal Democrat amendment so that we can help protect shoppers and their already stretched household budgets from another round of shrinkflation.' The Bill as a whole gives powers to ministers to regulate the marketing and use of goods in the UK after Brexit. It was previously amended in the House of Lords to provide protections to the imperial pint measure to ease fears over its future. The changes accepted by the Government would bar ministers from preventing or restricting the use of the pint in relation to draught beer, cider or milk in returnable containers. It also provides a definition of a pint as 0.56826125 cubic decimetres. A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: 'We're committed to protecting consumers from unfair commercial practices and making sure they have all the information they need to make informed decisions on purchases. 'That's why we're bringing in strict new laws next year to make sure businesses use clearer labelling for prices on supermarket shelves, and retailers show all unit prices in either kilograms or litres to improve clarity for shoppers.'
