Shrinkflation: It’s not your imagination, these products are getting smaller

KitKats, Gaviscon, toothpaste, and even Freddo have all fallen victim to shrinkflation, consumer group Which? has found.

As families struggle with the cost of a trip to the supermarket, a survey of shoppers revealed how many products are getting smaller – while others are being downgraded with cheaper ingredients.

Among the examples are:

• Aquafresh complete care original toothpaste – from £1.30 for 100ml to £2 for 75ml at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Ocado

• Gaviscon heartburn and indigestion liquid – from £14 for 600ml to £14 for 500ml at Sainsbury’s

• Sainsbury’s Scottish oats – from £1.25 for 1kg to £2.10 for 500g

• KitKat two-finger multipacks – from £3.60 for 21 bars to £5.50 for 18 bars at Ocado

• Quality Street tubs – from £6 for 600g to £7 for 550g at Morrisons

• Freddo multipacks – from £1.40 for five bars to £1.40 for four bars at Morrisons, Ocado and Tesco

Which? also received reports of popular treats missing key ingredients, as manufacturers seek to cut costs.

The amount of cocoa butter in white KitKats has fallen below 20%, meaning they can no longer actually be sold as white chocolate.

It comes after Penguin and Club bars lost their legal status as a chocolate biscuit, as they now contain more palm oil and shea oil than cocoa.

Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz called on supermarkets to be “more upfront” about price changes to help households “already under immense financial pressure” get better value.

While keeping track of the size and weight of products can be tricky, Which? has two top tips for detecting shrinkflation.

The first is to be wary of familiar products labelled as “new” – because the only thing that’s new may end up being the smaller size.

Meanwhile, the second is to pay attention to how much an item costs per 100g or 100ml, as this can be an easy way of finding out when prices change.

What have the companies said?

A spokeswoman for Mondelez International, which makes Cadbury products, said any change to product sizes are a “last resort”, but it’s facing “significantly higher input costs across our supply chain” – including for energy.

A Nestle spokesman said it was seeing “significant increases in the cost of coffee”, and some “adjustments” were occasionally needed “to maintain the same high quality and delicious taste that consumers know and love”.

“Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers,” they added.

A spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation also pointed to government policy, notably national insurance increases for employers and a new packaging tax.