Smaller Product But Same Packaging

The new trend in product packaging seems to be “downsizing”, or reducing the amount of product in the package but charging the same amount to consumers. This increases the price of the food, but not the package. In a recent tour of supermarkets, studies found that almost 10% of products examined had gotten smaller, while the prices have stayed the same.

Some examples:

• Bags of chips were cut from 12 ounce sizes to 10 ounces, while maintaining the same price.
• Mayonnaise jars that once contained 32 ounces now hold only 30 ounces.
• Some cereal companies are cutting 1.5 ounces from some boxes. Other companies are taking as much as 2.4 ounces while charging the same as before.
• Major ice cream manufacturers are packaging ice creams in 1.5 quart boxes as opposed to previous 1.75 quart sizes.

Although some companies are receiving many letters of complaint, they are standing by their choice to reduce product amounts, saying it is better than “to take the price of the package up” and make products unaffordable to consumers.