Shrinkflation

This is the front porch of our forum. Pull up a chair, and talk about whatever's on your mind.
Quilter51
Posts: 2815
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by Quilter51 »

Fantastic article.

I have to say that I love digital coupons. All that cutting and organizing was the largest absolute pain in the #$!. Sorry. The best option is to have an app for every store you go to and access their coupons as you shop. Easier to do on an android that basically has unlimited storage I admit. I remember when I used to sit down with the paper and do that thing and aside being kinder to the planet....

I do think you need to read the prices, because as Flida says very often the smaller one is cheaper and almost always when couponing. I get tons of suave buck on one body wash stuff and I always get the little one instad of the large one.

Iam brand conscious on toilet paper so I just get Cottonell when it's on sale and do not try to do that math. and I would never bake with any thing but butter or real shortening.

However, I do agree that this is often because of costs going up for the producers and manufacturers and is to be expected.
ohjodi
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 3:57 pm

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by ohjodi »

I am gazing into my crystal ball, and it tells me that by next summer, we will see our dozen egg cartons shrink to 10-egg cartons. I know they have them in the UK and many, if not all, other areas of Europe.

I expect butter to shrink down to two or three sticks, instead of four. They can't really shrink the sticks, themselves, because recipes usually call for butter by the stick or half stick.

The way I think of it is that companies will charge us more one way or another. We can't escape that.
They will either charge more, use cheaper ingredients, or shrink the packaging.
Many will do all three!

I would rather have the same quality of product in a smaller package.

If right now I need eggs $3, bread $3, and butter $4 = $10.
If they raise the prices eggs 3.50, bread 3.50, butter 5. = $12

I might not have that extra $2, or just don't want to spend that. I could possibly get smaller eggs, or the very cheap bread, but I don't want to.

So if I can get 10 eggs, 12oz butter, and my nice bread is smaller, for $10, I'm good. I can have one egg instead of two for a couple meals. One slice of toast or a half sandwich a couple times. Be more careful with using butter. The end result is I still had what I wanted every day, spent $10, but also saved some calories! lol
ohjodi
Grannysewstoys
Posts: 4156
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:37 pm

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by Grannysewstoys »

by ohjodi » Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:23 pm

I am gazing into my crystal ball, and it tells me that by next summer, we will see our dozen egg cartons shrink to 10-egg cartons. I know they have them in the UK and many, if not all, other areas of Europe.

I expect butter to shrink down to two or three sticks, instead of four. They can't really shrink the sticks, themselves, because recipes usually call for butter by the stick or half stick.

The way I think of it is that companies will charge us more one way or another. We can't escape that.
They will either charge more, use cheaper ingredients, or shrink the packaging.
Many will do all three!

I would rather have the same quality of product in a smaller package.

If right now I need eggs $3, bread $3, and butter $4 = $10.
If they raise the prices eggs 3.50, bread 3.50, butter 5. = $12

I might not have that extra $2, or just don't want to spend that. I could possibly get smaller eggs, or the very cheap bread, but I don't want to.

So if I can get 10 eggs, 12oz butter, and my nice bread is smaller, for $10, I'm good. I can have one egg instead of two for a couple meals. One slice of toast or a half sandwich a couple times. Be more careful with using butter. The end result is I still had what I wanted every day, spent $10, but also saved some calories! lol
ohjodi
Top
Post Reply
When my husband was stationed in Germany more than 40 years ago. Eggs were in boxes of 10. Metric is base 10.

When we were there 10 years earlier, the local milk store sold milk by the liter, eggs by the each.

While we were there then the local milk store was going out of business as people were now going to the small compared to our supermarkets. Our little village still had the bread bakery, the cake bakery, fruit store, and 2 types of meat markets.

At the time my apartment has about a 1 1/2 cubic foot refrigerator. I could freeze 2 sticks of butter or 8 mini ice cubes. My husband came home from work every night with one quart of milk.

Penny
User avatar
MackerelCat
Posts: 7261
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:44 pm

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by MackerelCat »

Penny, that is basically a dorm-sized cube fridge. You did really well to manage.

Jodi, European butter is already sold in two-stick packs, so I do imagine that's coming. I watch The Frugal Queen in France's grocery shopping videos, and a two-stick pack of butter there costs about $3.50. Because of a drought and heat wave in Europe, there is a shortage of butter.
Mackie
Beverley
Posts: 553
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2020 11:33 am

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by Beverley »

Oh Jodi, this has been my inflation fighting strategy for a few months and I am actually spending less because I am eating less. A win-win for me. Weight is coming off very slowly which is ok by me. I hope that will help me maintain weight loss.

Bev
Quilter51
Posts: 2815
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Re: Shrinkflation

Post by Quilter51 »

most butter in most european countries comes in blocks. Like Kerry gold butter here.
Post Reply