Is it just me or is the food and drink manufacturers and supermarkets trying to trick us? Over the last year I have been noticing that pack sizes are getting smaller. For example, chocolate bars, they use to come in packs of four but now many of the packs only contain three. When I was shopping yesterday I noticed that Mars and Snickers were on offer for £1, but on further inspection the packets only contained three bars, which is not such a good offer compared to a few months ago when they would be on offer for £1 but contained four bars.
Packets of crisps in muti-packs seem to be shrinking in comparison to ten years ago and bags of sweets and chocolates like Malteasers that use to contain 100g now only contain 88g but are still priced the same as before.
Diet coke, which I must confess is one of my bad addictions as I drink bottles of it on a daily basis, has now changed the standard bottle size from 2L to 1.75L and the supermarkets are still charging a pound a bottle when on offer, whereas they would do offers before for a pound a bottle on the 2L ones.
These changes may seem small and some people may think that it doesn't matter, but the truth is that all of these things add up each week and over the space of a year we are really loosing out. From now on whenever I'm shopping I will be checking the pack sizes and working out if things really are as good of an offer as they appear.
The only problem is that with some things like diet coke I have no choice but to buy it no matter what size or price the bottle is as it is something that I can not go without. I will work on my addiction to diet coke in the future but for now I will just have to look out for the best offers possible and settle for the smaller bottles.
My message to the manufactures and supermarkets is that you are not fooling anyone, so why not stop reducing our pack sizes as it is hard enough to feed a family as it is, without your tricks and deception.
I too used to be addicted to diet coke - but I did manage to kick the habit eventually - as I got truly concerned about stuff I'd read on the Internet about artificial sweeteners. I managed by buying lots of little bottles of fizzy water. At coke break time I'd open one of them instead - as it has the same sound and still felt 'special'. That's the way to outfox the evil manufacturers of course - by not buying the stuff at all! Think of it as playing the long con... #ShareWithMe
ReplyDeleteWell done on kicking the diet coke habit! I have started reducing my intake and I hope to get rid of it for good soon :-)
DeleteI was addicted to full fat coke in my pre-pregnancy life. Now have pepsi or apple juice or coffee. Couldn't give it up - need the caffeine!! Annoying when they change the package sizes. I understand that prices need to go up but t would be a lot more obvious to have small price increases than keeping stuff at the same price but smaller. Feels more of a rip-off that way .x #MMWBH
ReplyDeleteIt's surprising how addictive fizzy drinks can be. As for food pack sizes I completely agree, it feels like their trying to pull the wool over our eyes!
DeleteI know alot of people addicted to diet coke! My addiction is coffee and even though it's decaf I have way too many to count in a day. Naughty naughty I know. I hate when manufacturers make packaging smaller and smaller like we don't notice. grrr. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments :-) It's amazing to think how a fizzy drink can be so addictive isn't it? I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets annoyed with shrinking pack sizes!
DeleteYou're absolutely right Denise - its just a way of those companies looking like they are offering bargains without actually following through. In fact sometimes if you just blindly buy 3 for 2 bargains or whatever without weighing up the difference you find that you are better off just not bothering! #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteYour so right about those 3 for 2 offers, sometimes if you stop and actually work it out what seems like a great offer only ends up saving a few pence!
DeleteI think sizes are shrinking as portion sizes are being more controlled. Also, some manufacturers are using less packaging for eco reasons too. That said, actual products are smaller for the same price. You just end up buying more!
ReplyDeletex
Exactly Susanne! Thanks for commenting :-)
DeleteThey do dont they? I also notice those tin cans of chocolates gets wee bit smaller. Some other prodcuts thats the same size is slowly getting more expensive. Before with my £20 I can buy a lot. Now that cant cover 2-3 days food. Life is getting harder for us even if my hsuband is working 2 jobs already sadly =( #ShareWithMe
ReplyDeleteYes your right, the tins started off at 1kg and are now 800gs! It is hard to make ends meet now a days. Thanks for commenting :-)
DeleteI have noticed this myself. Now, I'm not nor have I ever been addicted to things like diet coke, but I must confess that i do need a little chocolate each day! My poor hips though, lol! Great post and making sure those companies know we are not daft!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up! #MMWBH xx
http://www.superbusymum.net
Thanks Deborah :-) xx
Delete