Food Containers Getting Smaller, But Prices Are Rising

In the United States, India, Britain and Japan, people are starting to see smaller containers and higher prices for food.

The cost increases are affecting snack food, cheese, drinks, soaps and more.

Economic experts say the changes in package sizes are a result of inflation¹. They call it "shrinkflation."

In the U.S., a popular kind of facial paper once had 65 sheets in each box, now it has 60. A container of yogurt that once had 150 grams now has about 125 grams. In Britain, a kind of coffee once had 100 grams in each package. It now has 90 grams. In India, a kind of soap is smaller by 20 grams.

In some cases, people who buy these products are getting less for the same price. Some are seeing higher prices for smaller packages. Experts say the move by food companies is not new, but it is common in times of inflation.

Around the world, people paid on average seven percent more for goods in May than they did the year before. A company that researches prices, S&P Global, said people should expect the inflation rate to stay the same at least until September.

Edgar Dworsky is a former lawyer for the American state of Massachusetts. He runs a website called Consumer World. He noted² that price increases and smaller packaging "comes in waves." He added, "We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment."

Dworsky said he started seeing smaller food containers last autumn. He notes coffee containers have less coffee and bathroom paper has fewer sheets.

Many companies that make these goods create smaller packages but also change the words on them to make them seem new or better, Dworsky said.

One kind of corn snack made by PepsiCo is called Fritos. They recently had a "party size" bag that contained about 510 grams. New packages are still called "party size," but now they only have 439 grams. PepsiCo did not answer questions about the new size when asked by the Associated Press. But the company did say the bottles for a drink called Gatorade were made smaller so people could hold them more easily, not because of inflation.

Large consumer goods companies Kimberly-Clark and Proctor & Gamble³ also did not answer questions.

But in Japan, the company that makes snacks called Calbee said the cost of materials was responsible for a price increase of 10 percent and a size decrease of 10 percent. Calbee makes soy and vegetable snacks.

In India, Dabur India has been open about its changes. Byas Anand is head of communications for the company. He called the price increases and size decreases "down-switching."

People around the world have been noticing "shrinkflation." They have taken photos and shown examples of it on social media.

Many people say they are changing the way they buy food. Alex Aspacher in the American state of Ohio is saving⁴ money by buying larger amounts of cheese and cutting it himself instead of buying cut cheese.

He said he has been surprised by how quickly the changes have happened.

"I was prepared for it to a degree," he said, but "there hasn't been a limit to it so far."

Experts say prices may go down, but it is not likely packages will get larger.

"Upsizing is kind of rare," Dworsky said.

In some cases, experts say, costs for food manufacturers⁵ are going up and they need to pass that on to buyers. But some companies might just be seeking higher profits.

Hitendra Chaturvedi is a business professor at Arizona State University.

He said he knows some companies are having trouble finding⁶ workers and paying higher costs. But he noted that PepsiCo's profits rose 128 percent in the first three months of 2022.

"I'm not saying they're profiteering, but it smells like it," he said.

Profiteering means selling things at very high prices at a time when they are hard to find.

Chaturvedi questioned: "Are we using supply constraints⁷ as a weapon to make more money?"

Words in This Story

package– n. a box, bag or other container for food or other products

snack – adj. a small amount of food eaten between meals

sheet – n. a piece of paper or cloth

tidal wave– n. a very large amount of something

consumer –n. a person who pays for goods or services

to a degree– phrase to a certain level

constraint– n. something that restricts or limits

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1 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 gamble   

n.冒险；v.赌博，孤注一掷

参考例句：

• Setting up this business was a bit of a gamble.开办这样的公司有点冒险。
• Drive carefully and don't gamble with your life.小心驾驶，别拿你的生命冒险。

4 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

5 manufacturers   

制造商，制造厂( manufacturer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad. 一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• Colour TV has been more aggressively promoted as more manufacturers have joined the competition. 由于更多的厂商参与竞争，推销彩色电视机的宣传更为激烈了。

6 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

7 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓