You won’t see 250g packs of butter on the shelves any more (Picture: Getty)
Lurpak is facing criticism for cutting the size of its butter blocks despite prices going up over the last year.
The average price of Lurpak’s unsalted butter went up by nearly 20% in the last year, The Telegraph reports.
Now Arla Foods, which makes Lurpak, has cut the size of its 250g packs to 200g, meaning shoppers are getting 20% less butter for a higher price.
Price analyst trolley.co.uk said the cheapest 250g pack of Lurpak unsalted butter used to cost 90p per 100g – but now the cheapest 200g pack costs 95p per 100g.
Recently Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested imposing price caps on staples like bread and milk – but it would not be compulsory for retailers to meet these.
The practice of reducing the size of products while keeping prices roughly the same is known as ‘shrinkflation’.
Some shoppers didn’t notice the decrease in size, leading to angry reviews being left on the Sainsbury’s website.
One user said they ‘won’t buy Lurpak anymore’, adding it ‘looks tiny in the butter dish and won’t last very long’.
The price of Lurpak has sparked outrage with some items being security tagged (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Meanwhile another who required 250g of butter for a recipe commented: ‘Nothing more annoying than getting home to discover you are 50g short.’
A third added: ‘This is the only butter that doesn’t seem to have jumped ridiculously in price.
‘Then it arrived and I see that the pack size has shrunk by 50g! Sneaky.’
Food producers blame increasing energy prices and the cost of ingredients going up for their products going up in price.
Recently Mini Cheddars made some of its biscuits smaller and less cheesy, and Magnum Ice Cream shrunk some of its packs by a quarter.
Shoppers are feeling the pinch (Picture: PA)
Danny Micklethwaite, VP of marketing at Arla Foods, said: ‘We’re aware that the cost of living crisis has put pressure on shoppers’ available spend, and we want to make our price points more accessible for shoppers, which we believe can be achieved, by reducing our pack sizes.
‘There are many different factors that affect the price consumers pay in store. These are set by the retailers themselves, but we work extremely closely with our retail partners to ensure we deliver tasty, quality dairy at the best possible price for both shoppers and our farmer owners.’
Security tags were added to packs of Lurpak last year, after the price of a 1kg tub increased to more than £9.
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Consumer champion Martyn James said: ‘The price of Lurpak shocked the nation last year and photos of overpriced butter went viral on social media.
‘So it’s perhaps inevitable that the company opted for shrinkflation to save their reputation.
‘But this is so blatant it will have the opposite effect. Cheaper alternatives are available and consumers are now much less brand loyal.’
Butter isn’t the only product protected with security measures – in fact, Co-op has started putting out empty coffee jars to stop shoplifting as their prices reach £10.50.
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‘This is the only butter that doesn’t seem to have jumped ridiculously in price. Then it arrived and I see that the pack size has shrunk by 50g! Sneaky.’
