A couple of months ago, Cadbury’s website had a cheeky little FAQ at the bottom:
Q: Why has the size of the egg changed?
(Referring to the beloved Cadbury Creme Egg)
A: It hasn’t, you’ve just grown up.
Ah, yes, the classic “It’s not us, it’s your nostalgia” defence.
But then, plot twist! Actor BJ Novak showed up on Conan O’Brien’s show and casually shattered the illusion for millions. He brought not one, but two Creme Eggs: one from the current year and one from the year before.
Spoiler alert: they were not the same size. Not even close.
So no, Cadbury, we didn’t just “grow up.” You just shrank our chocolate dreams and hoped we wouldn’t notice.
But you’d think since the size of the chocolate has decreased, there had to be a decline in the prices as well, right? Well, no. The size has changed, the recipe has changed, but the price has increased. Now, with a loyalty card, each egg costs 59p when bought in the packs, rather than last year’s promotional price of 30p.
Do you know what’s the worst part? Cadbury isn’t the sole company falling to shrinkflation. There are many.
What is Shrinkflation?
In simple words, Shrinkflation is reducing a product’s size or quantity while keeping its price stable. Whether it’s your toilet paper, your bag of chips, chocolates, or literally any other thing you can think of, they’re all falling to shrinkflation right before our eyes, and we can barely tell.
Between 2012 and 2017, almost 2529 products shrank in the United Kingdom while their prices remained the same. While many companies try to hide these changes, making them as less noticeable as possible, consumers have lately started to catch the little details. In fact, there is an entire Reddit thread dedicated to people finding products that have fallen to shrinkflation.
Just discovered this subreddit and it irritates me to no end.
byu/Last-reddit-user- inshrinkflation
The last one on the shelf. Dole has followed suit.
byu/Spire_Prime inshrinkflation
The list is so long that it would be impossible to attach all of it here. So, I highly recommend you go and check out the Reddit thread; your mind will be blown.
Why Companies Resort to Shrinkflation?
It’s not like Cadbury has a personal vendetta against you and decided to shrink the Creme Egg out of spite. As dramatic as that sounds, there are actually some pretty valid reasons behind shrinkflation.
The biggest culprit? Rising production costs. As the price of raw materials climbs, think potatoes for chips or cocoa for chocolate, so does the cost of making your favourite snacks. Now, brands have two choices: raise the price or shrink the product. Guess which one feels sneakier?
Take your go-to bag of chips. If potatoes suddenly cost more, making the same bag becomes pricier. However, instead of risking a price shock, the company quietly reduces few chips and keeps the price the same. Voilà, shrinkflation!
Most shoppers are more sensitive to price tags than portion sizes. We’ll spot a Rs20 hike in an instant, but barely flinch if the bag gets a tad lighter or the bar a bit thinner. That’s why brands often choose shrinkage over price hikes; it’s inflation, but quieter and more subtle.
Skimflation: Is that a Third Choice?
Earlier, I talked about how companies usually have two classic tricks up their sleeves during inflation: increase the prices or shrink the product. But guess what? There’s a third, sneakier move in the playbook: skimflation.
When brands can’t touch the price tag or the portion size, they quietly downgrade the quality. Suddenly, your favourite snack is made with “new and improved” (read: cheaper and sadder) ingredients. The wrapper’s the same, but what’s inside? Definitely not the stuff you grew up loving.
Honestly, no wonder my childhood snacks taste like a faded memory, because they are not the same anymore.
How to Spot Shrinkflation?
It’s weird how tricky it has become to spot shrinkflation today. Unless you pay close attention, you probably wouldn’t even notice that your favourite products have gotten smaller and yet you are paying the same price for them.
If you are looking to spot shrinkflation next time you do your groceries, here are some tips:
- Try spotting a redesign. When companies shrink products, they sometimes also change package designs. You might think a new quirky slogan or a flashy design is totally harmless, but guess what, it’s not!
- Do a quick price-per-unit check to spot any sneaky changes. Can’t remember the old price? No worries, but if you do, you’ve got a shopper’s superpower.
- Learn the net weights of products and notice any changes. Again, this ain’t for the amateur, but if you really want to spot shrinkflation, you need to pay extra attention.
So next time you’re standing in the snack aisle wondering why your chips feel more like crumbs and your chocolate bar disappears in two bites, don’t blame your appetite, blame shrinkflation.
Because no, Cadbury, we didn’t grow up. You just got sneakier. And now, so have we.
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