When you walk through the grocery aisles, everything might look familiar. The same colorful packages, the familiar brand logos, the trusted products you’ve been buying for years. Yet something insidious has been happening right under your nose – a phenomenon that economists call shrinkflation.
Over three-quarters of surveyed consumers say they have noticed shrinkflation at the grocery store in the previous 30 days, according to the October 2024 Consumer Food Insights Report. Some major brands reduced product sizes by over 30% in 2024 without reducing prices. What’s particularly striking is how quietly this transformation has happened – companies banking on the fact that most people don’t memorize the exact weight or count of their regular purchases.
Charmin Toilet Paper
The bathroom staple has become perhaps the most notorious example of shrinkflation in action. In 1992, a standard roll of Charmin Ultra boasted 170 sheets per roll, compared to today’s versions, which contain only 56 sheets. Even Charmin’s “Double” rolls, which are marketed as containing more product, offer merely 154 sheets. Shrinkflation watchers on Reddit have been all over Charmin shrinkflation, reporting that products like Mega rolls have decreased from 264 sheets per roll to 244 sheets per roll.
The company uses confusing terminology like “Mega” and “Double” rolls to mask the downsizing. Six Ultra Soft “Mega” rolls are supposedly the equivalent of 24 regular rolls, yet the package contains just 146 square feet of toilet paper. Since 2022, the “Mega” sheet per roll count has fallen from 264 to 224. It’s worth noting that most consumers have no idea what a “regular” roll even looks like anymore since they’ve virtually disappeared from store shelves.
Angel Soft Toilet Paper
Twelve mega rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper decreased significantly, shrinking from 429 sheets a roll in 2019 to 320 sheets in 2024. That’s a 25.4% reduction in size – the highest across the household products analyzed. While the cost of 12 Angel Soft mega rolls has dipped from $9.97 to $8.44, its price per 100 count increased from 19 cents to 22 cents, meaning consumers are paying 13.5% more per 100 sheets.
This represents one of the most dramatic examples of shrinkflation across all product categories. The manufacturer did compensate slightly by making sheets thicker, but the math still doesn’t work out in consumers’ favor. Angel Soft’s mega roll plummeted from 425 to 320 sheets, a 25 percent reduction. The manufacturer said it thickened the sheets 20 percent at the same time.
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes
Breakfast cereals have been serial offenders when it comes to shrinkflation for decades. Family-sized Frosted Flakes, made by Kellogg’s, has slimmed from 24 ounces to 21.7 ounces, resulting in a 40% increase in per-ounce pricing, the analysis found. Family-size Frosted Flakes dropped 9.6% from 24.0 ounces to 21.7, leading to a 40.0% price increase per ounce.
The practice has become so common in the cereal industry that companies now use size designations like “family size” and “party size” to confuse consumers. They’re hoping shoppers will focus on these labels rather than checking the actual weight. The same box that used to feed your family for a week now barely lasts five days.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Even America’s favorite candy hasn’t escaped the shrinkflation trend. About 38% of candy items are now sold in smaller amounts, including party-size Reese’s miniatures (35.6 ounces now versus 40 ounces in 2019-2020). Reese’s: Party-size miniatures are now 35.6 ounces, down from 40 ounces.
The reduction affects the larger sharing packages that families often buy for holidays and special occasions. While individual cups remain relatively stable, the multi-packs have quietly shed weight. This strategy allows companies to maintain the illusion that their core product remains unchanged while still passing increased costs onto consumers through the bulk packages.
M&M’s
The colorful candies have also fallen victim to downsizing tactics. M&Ms: Family size went from 10.07 ounces to 10 ounces in 2023. party-size milk chocolate M&M’s (38 ounces now versus 42 ounces previously). Peanut M&Ms: The “sharing size” package declined from 10.70 ounces to 10.05 ounces.
What’s particularly sneaky about candy shrinkflation is that the individual pieces remain the same size – it’s the count that decreases. Mars, the company behind M&M’s, has managed to reduce package contents while maintaining virtually identical packaging design. Most consumers grabbing a family-size bag for movie night never realize they’re getting fewer pieces for their money.
Tostitos Tortilla Chips
The party staple has quietly gotten less festive over the years. Party and family-sized bags of tortilla chips are not as full as they used to be. With bags shrinking like Tostitos in 2023, going from 18 ounces to 15.5 ounces, your nacho nights might feel a little less festive. Party and family-sized bags of tortilla chips are not as full as they used to be. With bags shrinking like Tostitos in 2023, going from 18 ounces to 15.5 ounces, your nacho nights might feel a little less festive.
Frito-Lay has perfected the art of maintaining bag size while reducing contents. The bags look identical on the shelf, but that familiar rustling sound now contains significantly less product. Ruffles potato chips: from 9 ounces to 8.5 ounces, although the site notes that “the amount of air inside the bag looks to be the same”. The air-to-chip ratio has definitely shifted in favor of the air.
Folgers Coffee
Your morning cup of joe has been quietly getting more expensive per serving. Coffee lovers, take note: brands like Folgers have reduced the size of their coffee cans while keeping prices steady or even increasing them. What used to be a 51-ounce can now might be 43.5 ounces, offering fewer cups of coffee per purchase. Folgers instant coffee shrunk from 51 ounces to 43.5 ounces while still advertising “up to 400 cups” of coffee per container.
The particularly deceptive aspect here is that Folgers continues to advertise the same number of cups per container despite containing less coffee. This mathematical impossibility works only if they’re assuming consumers will use less coffee per cup – essentially watering down their morning brew without realizing it.
Gatorade Sports Drinks
The sports drink has undergone a significant transformation that many athletes haven’t noticed. Gatorade: The popular 32-ounce bottle shrank to 28 ounces. Gatorade, which has always come in 32-ounce (1-quart) bottles, introduced a new bottle with a tapered waistline that’s only 28 ounces, for the same price, of course.
The clever redesign makes the bottle appear sleeker and more modern, but it’s actually just smaller. Shoppers have alerted him to new Gatorade bottles which hold less beverage – 28 fluid ounce down 32 fluid ounce. For athletes who depend on consistent hydration, this represents a meaningful reduction in fluid intake during workouts.
Bounty Paper Towels
The kitchen essential has joined the shrinkflation parade alongside its bathroom counterpart. Paper products are often reported as being involved in shrinkflation. For example, the “used to be” with the Select-a-Size rolls was that they had 120 sheets per roll; now, reportedly, many varieties contain only 100 sheets. Sparkle is a recent offender. Consumer World found it cut six sheets off each roll, reducing it to 110 from 116, or by about 5 percent.
Paper towel shrinkflation is particularly insidious because the reduction in sheet count is often accompanied by subtle changes in perforation patterns. Companies market these changes as “improvements” for better tearing, but they’re really just ways to give consumers less product while maintaining the same packaging footprint.
Community Co Hot Cross Buns
Even seasonal treats haven’t escaped the downsizing trend. Community Co’s traditional and chocolate varieties have both shrunk by 30g since last year, going from 480g to 450g. They’ve also gone up in price, from $4.00 to $4.50. This represents a double hit for consumers – both shrinkflation and traditional price inflation happening simultaneously.
Metcash told us it recently moved the production of its hot cross buns to a different maker and this manufacturer’s capabilities had dictated a reduction in pack size to 450g. The company blamed production limitations, but consumers still pay more for less product. This example shows how shrinkflation can be disguised as operational necessity.
Conclusion
Shrinkflation drove between 3.3% and 10.3% of price inflation among selected national grocery brands between 2019 Q1 through 2023 Q3. The practice has become so widespread that most consumers (82%) think shrinkflation is a common practice used by food companies and 76% believe it is a result of trying to increase profits even when costs are not rising. Companies have discovered that consumers are far more likely to notice a price increase than a size decrease, making shrinkflation an attractive way to maintain profit margins during inflationary periods.
The key to fighting back is becoming a more conscious consumer – checking unit prices, comparing product weights, and voting with your wallet. What surprises you most about these shrinkflation examples?
