Earlier this year, Radio Canada, the French version of the CBC, did an in-depth investigation of hidden methods that food manufacturers have to increase the amounts that consumers pay by reducing either the size of the format or the quality of the product. They looked at over 300 products sold in Canada that had seen such reductions over the last 20 years. These practices, which tend to surge during periods of high inflation, are neither
regulated nor monitored in Canada. More than twice as many products had sizes reduced between 2021 and 2024 as between 2016 and 2020.
In the last few years, the sizes of cereal boxes have been reduced by as much as 20%. Blocks of cheese and packages of processed meat have seen their package size reduced by similar amounts. Liquid soaps, shampoos and cleaning products’ sizes have shrunk by 10% or more. Packages of house brands, meant to offer lower priced alternatives, have also been downsized by double digit percentages.
Many times, the product has a new shape, or the packaging is redesigned, with a mention of something new to make the size reduction go unnoticed. Yet often the only thing that’s changed is the barcode, which must be updated when the size changes. Initial temporary price cuts may also be offered before subsequent mark-ups leave the consumer paying more for less.
A number of countries in Europe including France and Germany will soon require manufacturers to clearly state that sizes have been reduced, and that for
a period of several months. Customers quickly become used to the smaller sizes, and the larger formats are forgotten.
It’s been many years since we’ve seen 2 litre bottles of orange juice. Sizes of 1.89 litres had become the norm, before giving way to 1.75 or even 1.65 litres. Now 1.5 litre bottles are common. The largest formats, currently 2.5 or 2.63 litres, are in fact closer to the normal sizes of years past.
Cream used to come in a two-cup size. For the last ten years, we’ve instead had 237 or 473 millilitres, regardless of requirements for most recipes. The size of butter has remained the same throughout the years, but margarine has recently slipped to 850 grams from the previous 908 grams.
Products with fewer producers are more likely to have smaller sizes as the years
go by. These changes are in general caused by manufacturers facing increases in the prices of the ingredients, packaging, storage, or transport – factors that faced substantial increases in costs as supply chains broke down in 2020 and 2021. Such strategies are seen as less likely to impact sales than raising outright the prices consumers pay.
For smaller manufacturers, large grocery chains can refuse their requests for price increases, leaving shrinkflation as their only recourse in the face of rising costs.
