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I tend to hoard food and will consume it on a "first in last out" basis so I'm constantly rotating stock and nothing expires before being consumed. One day I n

I tend to hoard food and will consume it on a "first in last out" basis so I'm constantly rotating stock and nothing expires before being consumed. One day I noticed that the bag of mixed nuts I just bought was labelled 50g less than a bag I had purchased a few months ago. It wasn't the case that there were less nuts in the bag. The bag itself was smaller so as to maintain the appearance of robustness. What struck me is that this probably wasn't in response to any sort of supply or demand shock, but was probably already planned since the product was first introduced. The way the design on the package was already reconfigured and then the package distributed to factories to be filled with the new amount, the producers knew and planned beforehand that it would happen, number crunched and everything. So now I already internally think to myself that any consumable product that screams great value will inevitably fall victim to skimpflation, because it was planned from the start. Make an awesome product, get people hooked on it, and then slowly ratchet back the value to reap the gains. And of course hope people don't notice.

amelius 4y ago
I don't mind smaller sizes. In fact, I prefer them, because I usually eat the entire package regardless of its size. Of course, I do mind skimpflation, i.e., the reduction in quality.
- AstralStorm 4y ago
  I do mind keeping the price the same or higher.
  - Gigachad 4y ago
    That's out of the control of food producers. The central banks create more money every year so everyone else just has to deal with it. It's widely agreed on that a small amount of inflation is good for society. Just means prices go up slightly every year but hopefully your wages get bumped in sync.
willcipriano 4y ago
This pattern with happening with tools. Milwaukee released a impact driver and it received great reviews, they were practically indestructible. They just released a revision of it, same model number and packaging but completely changed the inside and now you can't even change a set of tires with one before it dies. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iusVoa21daQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iusVoa21daQ
- mdp2021 4y ago
  And in fact, some tech reviewers recently declared (as recalled in a submission in this pages) that it is becoming useless to review products that may suddenly be shipped with a dramatic drop in their quality, while keeping the same name.
  - throwaway742 4y ago
    It should be illegal to change a product without changing the model number or at least add a revision number.
googlryas 4y ago
BJ Novak was onto Cadbury pulling this same stunt 15 years ago - no ability to blame COVID. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=494133268428617 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=494133268428617
bigiain 4y ago
> Make an awesome product, get people hooked on it, and then slowly ratchet back the value to reap the gains. And of course hope people don't notice. It's almost as though the whole business world uses the same tactics as VC backed tech startups...
Daneel_ 4y ago
Wouldn’t this be a first in, first out approach if you’re consuming the oldest item on the shelf whenever you need it?
- bombcar 4y ago
  That’s what they mean I think. Standard procedure at stores and businesses and lets you keep a lot in stock.
  - Magi604 4y ago
    Yeah sorry, that's what I meant. It was late at work and I was tired. Thankfully most people got what I really meant
Noumenon72 4y ago
> labelled 50g less than a bag I had purchased a few months ago. It wasn't the case that there were less nuts in the bag. 50g less nuts without less nuts in the bag? You mean they went to less dense nuts?
- bombcar 4y ago
  I think they meant that the bag didn’t seem “emptier” so they shrunk the bag to make it seem just as full. Like the half gallon jugs that are now 58 ounces or whatever.
  - feet 4y ago
    But that's not what "less nuts" means. The same mass of nuts... Will be the same mass. That's how mass works, unless like the previous commenter mentioned the nuts are truly less dense. I was also confused by the phrasing the OP used As far as I'm aware, half gallon isn't 58 ounces so that's not what that container is. You can't just say that there is a new conversion factor
    - bombcar 4y ago
      That’s the point - they have jugs that look like the half gallon ones did but they’re smaller (and labeled as such). Minute Maid Orange Juice, Fruit Juice Drink, 59 fl oz https://www.walmart.com/ip/22176379 https://www.walmart.com/ip/22176379 That same look used to be half a gallon.
      - feet 4y ago
        Half gallon is not a look or particular container design. It is a measurement of fluid volume I see the same tetrapack design used for quarts, do you call those "half gallon" as well?

amelius 4y ago

I don't mind smaller sizes. In fact, I prefer them, because I usually eat the entire package regardless of its size. Of course, I do mind skimpflation, i.e., the reduction in quality.

AstralStorm 4y ago
I do mind keeping the price the same or higher.
- Gigachad 4y ago
  That's out of the control of food producers. The central banks create more money every year so everyone else just has to deal with it. It's widely agreed on that a small amount of inflation is good for society. Just means prices go up slightly every year but hopefully your wages get bumped in sync.

willcipriano 4y ago

This pattern with happening with tools. Milwaukee released a impact driver and it received great reviews, they were practically indestructible. They just released a revision of it, same model number and packaging but completely changed the inside and now you can't even change a set of tires with one before it dies. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iusVoa21daQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iusVoa21daQ

mdp2021 4y ago
And in fact, some tech reviewers recently declared (as recalled in a submission in this pages) that it is becoming useless to review products that may suddenly be shipped with a dramatic drop in their quality, while keeping the same name.
- throwaway742 4y ago
  It should be illegal to change a product without changing the model number or at least add a revision number.

googlryas 4y ago

BJ Novak was onto Cadbury pulling this same stunt 15 years ago - no ability to blame COVID. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=494133268428617 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=494133268428617

bigiain 4y ago

> Make an awesome product, get people hooked on it, and then slowly ratchet back the value to reap the gains. And of course hope people don't notice. It's almost as though the whole business world uses the same tactics as VC backed tech startups...

Daneel_ 4y ago

Wouldn’t this be a first in, first out approach if you’re consuming the oldest item on the shelf whenever you need it?

bombcar 4y ago
That’s what they mean I think. Standard procedure at stores and businesses and lets you keep a lot in stock.
- Magi604 4y ago
  Yeah sorry, that's what I meant. It was late at work and I was tired. Thankfully most people got what I really meant

Noumenon72 4y ago

> labelled 50g less than a bag I had purchased a few months ago. It wasn't the case that there were less nuts in the bag. 50g less nuts without less nuts in the bag? You mean they went to less dense nuts?

bombcar 4y ago
I think they meant that the bag didn’t seem “emptier” so they shrunk the bag to make it seem just as full. Like the half gallon jugs that are now 58 ounces or whatever.
- feet 4y ago
  But that's not what "less nuts" means. The same mass of nuts... Will be the same mass. That's how mass works, unless like the previous commenter mentioned the nuts are truly less dense. I was also confused by the phrasing the OP used As far as I'm aware, half gallon isn't 58 ounces so that's not what that container is. You can't just say that there is a new conversion factor
  - bombcar 4y ago
    That’s the point - they have jugs that look like the half gallon ones did but they’re smaller (and labeled as such). Minute Maid Orange Juice, Fruit Juice Drink, 59 fl oz https://www.walmart.com/ip/22176379 https://www.walmart.com/ip/22176379 That same look used to be half a gallon.
    - feet 4y ago
      Half gallon is not a look or particular container design. It is a measurement of fluid volume I see the same tetrapack design used for quarts, do you call those "half gallon" as well?