Disgusted with cake mix sizes today!!!

[vikster1]

I never get 24 cupcakes out of a box mix.

Have you noticed sugar is now a 4 lb bag, same price as a 5 used to be.

 

[poohguys]

I hate that everything is being downsized. DH tells me to stop buying from the companies that downsize, but it is sometimes hard to find stuff that is not.

Scratch cake and icing is not hard, I just never seem to have all the ingredients when I want to make one-lol.

 

[guinea pig]

My cookbook is at least 10 years old. The recipe for chocolate bark(yummy btw) calls for a 12oz bag of chocolate chips. But the bags they sell now are only 11oz!

 

[sydneysmom]

my first thought when reading the title of this thread was "count your blessings because this is a great problem to be upset about". And believe me, I'm not discounting the problem of smaller sizes / same product, but it just puts into perspective alot of things.

 

[Iowajes]

As long as the box is accurately labeled with the amount being sold, I don't see the problem. The company is selling a certain amount for a specific price. If it isn't the amount your recipe calls for, you need to buy more.

What was done in the past has very little baring on what is being done now or will be done in the future.

All I expect is that companies are honest about what they are selling now.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Is it bad that I am actually afraid to do them from scratch? I mean, I can cook with the best of them but I am actually scared of baking! It has to be so much more exact and I would hate to mess it up and waste all of those ingredients. I think I just have to get over it. I would love to be able to bake my own cakes, cupcakes, breads, muffins, and then like from scratch.

There are plenty of you tube videos to help you along. Some show step by step. Once you do it , you may never buy boxed of anything.

 

[daly7o9]

Really? This is what you call a 'First World Problem'. Be thankful that you have access to an ample food supply.

 

[manning]

changing the size and keeping the same price is a perfect way of hiding the cost increase.

That 4 lb instead of 5 lb bag of sugar--- 25% increase

The 11 oz of chocolate chips instead of 12 oz --- a little over 9% increase. and on and on.

What are going to pay more attention to? The increase in price or the decrease of the amount you are getting?

 

[Iowajes]

What are going to pay more attention to? The increase in price or the decrease of the amount you are getting?

Pay attention to price per ounce. =
Easy solution.

Plus it lets you know the times that a couple of the small containers is a better deal than one of the big ones.

 

[DizMe]

Really? This is what you call a 'First World Problem'. Be thankful that you have access to an ample food supply.

There will always be someone with a bigger problem, a worse experience, a bigger tragedy. Sure, this isn't a major complaint on the world scale, but why should that mean it can't be remarked upon and discussed? It sounds preachy to scold the OP for being peeved about it. I'm sure she's aware that it doesn't quite compare to world hunger or ebola in Sierra Leone.

I've never liked the idea that you can't say something if there are bigger issues than yours. And this is a budget forum, where cost changes are looked at very closely.

 

[dhdozier]

Agreed! No one is saying this is a world crisis but smarter, better prepared consumers make less costly mistakes. And the very topic of less cake mix (down from 18 to 15 oz) was a topic that came up in my household just last week. I was making cookies from an old recipe where you use the old measurements of a 18 oz cake box and didn't pay attention that the new is now 15ish oz. I was puzzled at first when the finished batter was soupy until I found the problem, then I was aggravated at myself for not noticing. I am glad my 15 yr old daughter was with me so that she learned a life lesson.

 

[Kriii]

Unfortunately, I think this trend may continue. As someone related to a person in the food "biz," my understanding is that the costs of the raw materials has been steadily increasing. I don't think the food companies are posting record profits, at least in the business that I am referring to. Since there is customer resistance to too much price increase, downsizing is becoming customary. This seems to be happening across brands and various food companies. It really is concerning how much food overall has increased in price. I worry about how those in poverty can afford nuritionally decent food, not cheap low nutrition processed food. When I look at the loss leaders in our local ads, the processed foods are often the ones featured. With items such as fresh strawberries going as high as 7.99 a container at my local market, I can see where families have to trade off nutrition for quantity.

 

[manning]

Here's an interesting tidbit.

I noticed this before thanksgiving.

These trends are between Dec 2013 to around thanksgiving

Price of:

Wheat down 11%

Corn down 11.6%

Soybean down 21.6%

Cotton down 21.1%

Wages haven't gone up much and on top of that fuel prices are dropping.

Think all that will be passed to us?

If so,very slowly.

 

[havaneselover]

Here's an interesting tidbit.

I noticed this before thanksgiving.

These trends are between Dec 2013 to around thanksgiving

Price of:

Wheat down 11%

Corn down 11.6%

Soybean down 21.6%

Cotton down 21.1%

Wages haven't gone up much and on top of that fuel prices are dropping.

Think all that will be passed to us?

If so,very slowly.

According to CPI, food prices are up about 3% over the last year.

Whether declining prices are passed on to consumers depends on the elasticity of demand. Companies are profit maximizers and publicly held ones answer to shareholders, not consumers.

 

[disneyjes]

I hear ya! We're gluten free and the mixes are so small and cost between $4-$5!!!

 

[eliza61]

Here's an interesting tidbit.

I noticed this before thanksgiving.

These trends are between Dec 2013 to around thanksgiving

Price of:

Wheat down 11%

Corn down 11.6%

Soybean down 21.6%

Cotton down 21.1%

Wages haven't gone up much and on top of that fuel prices are dropping.

Think all that will be passed to us?

If so,very slowly.

fuel prices are down. the average price of a gallon of gas is about 2.40. almost a dollar a gallon lower.

Now the increase/decrease in prices is never a straight line. Because the cost of a bushel of cotton goes down 21% does not mean a cotton t-shirt will decrease by that much. the price of a commodity is totally different than the price of the consumer goods. as it should be.

Now some prices have be slowly going down. Pork and chicken products have been lower, because of lower feed prices. Over the last month beef prices have been great. I've got 4 rib eye roast in my freezer because the prices were around 6.99/lb which is excellent for a rib roast. now it may have been the holidays and grocery stores used these prices to lure folks in but I stocked up on hams, beef roast and pork loin roast because I found the prices to be awesome. 0.99c/pound for ham shank portions, 1.19/lb boneless chicken breast. but again there are other factors involved
Diary seems to be the exception IMO, those prices are still ridiculous.


consumptionables often have many factors effecting the price. cotton prices have gone down but there is a wide variable between a pair of levi jeans and a pair of Michael kors jeans.