The incredible shrinking ice cream container

[bcla]

Well - in our forced time together my kid and I have been talking a lot about ice cream and perhaps consuming too much of it. But the question my kid had was "What's a half gallon?" We're thinking of making a special trip to get something special at Fenton's in Oakland, and they still have half gallons. This used to be the standard although there are a few that still have half gallons (Tillamook and some regional dairies come to mind) . However, the big brands have nearly all gone to 1.5 quarts, which is 75% of a half gallon. I remember when 1.75 quarts was the first step.

The other thing was that we found Haagen-Daz on sale. But then I looked at the label and it said "14 oz." I mean - for the price we're paying why not a full pint?

 

[leebee]

Yeah. And pounds of coffee are now sometimes 14 oz cans, and 5 pound bags of sugar (and sometimes flour) are now 4 pounds. They all look the same as the larger sizes, but they're not. It annoys me... because of course there isn't a price reduction for the new, smaller size!

 

[Elle23]

I’ve noticed many grocery items shrinking lately (of course the price doesn’t shrink!)

All detergent shrunk their bottles and now they are teeny tiny (I swore I would never buy another bottle of it after that and I haven’t. I switched to the Sam’s brand).

Lay’s potato chip bags have shrunk recently too. They are just about a large single serving size now.

Spaghettios cans also shrunk not too long ago.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Cereal boxes are tiny in some stores now and almost $5/box!

 

[MamaLema]

I noticed Tropicana has less juice in it but same size carton

 

[jeff_h]

Those containers are just trying to keep up the pace with the incredible shrinking coffee cans...

 

[AppleDumpling]

Yep, this has been going on for at least a decade, and there’s even a name for it. It’s called shrinkflation. Hundreds of products, not just food, but things like toothpaste, toilet paper, and dish detergent are affected. The one that bothers me most is the standard 2-liter bottle of soda that is now 1.75 liters.

In addition, some items have switched to cheaper packaging, replacing cardboard boxes, glass jars and cans with plastic, that costs less to produce and saves the manufacturer in shipping costs due to its lighter weight.

 

[PattnFmly]

Makes it difficult sometimes to make recipes that you have always made a certain way. I made a chicken dish the other day that came out way too dry. Silly me, didn't pay attention to the smaller size on my can of creamed soup. Now I will need to remember 2 cans in the future! Just an adjustment, but hey, I have made it the same way for 30 years!

 

[amcnj]

It seems the food producers made a decision a while back to keep the price fairly stable, but continually shrink the package size. So far the public seems to accept ever smaller sizes. But there has to come a point where it just won’t work anymore.

 

[billlaurie]

Spaghetti sauce too. Not even enough for a pound of pasta (well that is down to 12 ounces for some types). The other thing that really annoys me is the shrinking boxed cake mix. You can't make a decent 9 inch layer cake anymore. The layers are pitiful.

 

[RangerPooh]

It is frustrating that products keep shrinking. I'd be open to paying a little more for a full product.

As a large family I look at 'family sized' portions and think that they must be serving 3 instead of 4, which was the norm. Which means I may have to purchase three or four of the item in order to make it.

 

[tcufrog]

Bluebell is still a half gallon.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Trickery with laundry liquids. Take a look at the directions and the numbers on the cap fill line, the directions usually point to less than the highest fill line but most people (me too until like last week out of boredom) don't read directions and just fill until they feel comfortable with the amount - which is always more. I get concentrated because it's small but then feel like the volume is off and go off label - working on it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The thing that gets me is that for some of these items, it varies by store. Like the cereal, for instance. I can go to a regular grocery store and get a smallish box for close to $4. I can go to a different t higher end grocery store and get the same brand of cereal in an even smaller box for close to $5. Yet I can go to WalMart and get the same cereal in a huge box for roughly $3!

I know it has to do with buying power. WalMart is a huge account for manufacturers so they’ll cut a better deal for them. But it’s frustrating when you’re shopping. Aldi’s has decent cereal though usually not name brand but for a decent price. I shop at different places so it feels very fractured at times. (And you never know what you’ll find in my cabinets! )

 

[focusondisney]

Yea, it has been a thing for quite awhile but seems more noticeable lately. Canned vegetables went from 16 oz, to 15 oz, to 14 oz. I have some canned spinach that is 13.5 oz. That is a serving lost. And yea, making recipes or feeding the same amount of people isn’t possible with the smaller size. So instead of paying a little more for the same size package, now I need to pay double & buy a second package to have enough for what I need. And toss the excess. Aggravating.

The TP is the one that gets me crazy. I buy the “mega” roll. Says 4 rolls equals 1 mega roll. Except the mega roll isn’t that big either. If it was split it into 4, you’d need a new roll twice a day.

 

[mnrose]

The incredible shrinking EVERYTHING container. Look at old recipes that call for a "can" of anything. Cans generally used to be 16 ounces. Now, 14.5. That makes a difference in some recipes! And, don't get me started on OJ. Used to be 64. Then 59. Now some have gone to 52! That is quite a bit different. Price virtually the same as the "old" 64 ounce container. It's a way of cutting costs that a lot of consumers do not notice.

 

[China Expat]

This practice absolutely drives me nuts! I often go on corporate Facebook pages and make clear my irritation. Not sure they care.

 

[DLgal]

What are you gonna do? Ice cream (real ice cream) is expensive to make. I have an ice cream maker. It costs more to make a quart of homemade ice cream than to buy a quart of even super premium.

I wait for sales and buy it then.

 

[jlmarr]

We're thinking of making a special trip to get something special at Fenton's in Oakland

You had me at Fenton's.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We've noticed that Powerade (32 oz) is now 28 oz. Same price.