I’ve read about how the size of food packages is shrinking, but consumers are being charged the same amount or more. Last Wednesday, I experienced this phenomena first-hand.
As usual, I made my list and then took off to go grocery shopping. I was feeling pretty good about my trip until I wheeled my cart over to the yogurt, cheese, and butter aisle. The yogurt I like to eat is always on sale and this time the sale price listed ten for $5. That’s not too bad, so I reached out my hand to pick up a few containers, but I stopped short because something didn’t look quite right.
At first I thought it might be the labeling on the top of the package because it said something about a new creamy blend. But no, even though that was different, that wasn’t “it.” I think I stood there for two minutes before I realized that the packaging was smaller. The container has gone from being eight ounces to six ounces ... but the price has stayed the same.
Essentially, the company that makes the yogurt is giving me 25 percent less product but is keeping the price the same and they’re trying to distract me (and you) with some ridiculousness about a new creamy blend. There’s something about this that just seems so incredibly dishonest. Just raise the price on the food item instead of trying to trick me into believing I’m still getting what I was getting before.
I mean, food companies like to put stuff like, “Now with 25 percent more!” on the label so why not slap, “Now with 25 percent less!” up there too just so I’m clear on what’s going on. This kind of corporate trickery really annoys me. I’m sure they haven’t cut the CEO’s pay by 25 percent, have they?
I’d planned on buying five containers of yogurt, but this time in protest, I only bought three. This yogurt is not a necessity at all. It’s a total luxury for my sweet tooth self and I might just cut it out entirely. It’s just that I’m sure this downsized packaging has happened with other stuff I buy as well. Every week I watch my grocery store bill creep ever upwards and I know more corporate chicanery is sure to be in the mix.
