Just in case you haven't noticed or heard from the media - the packaging of your favorite products shrunk in 2008 but you still paid the same amount. This year it looks like the prices of the smaller packages will be on the rise.During 2008 thousands of almost imperceptible changes crept into the grocery isle. Some much-decried examples:
- The "bubble" in jars of Skippy peanut butter jar got more indented, turning an 18-ounce jar into a 16.3-ounce one
- Bryers ice cream containers shrank by one-quarter of a quart
- Containers of Tropicana orange juice got 7 ounces lighter
- Froot Loops lost more than 2 ounces per box
The reason? During 2008, Manufacturers claimed package downsizing was a result of rising commodity prices and they didn't want to pass the higher prices on to the consumer. However, when commodity prices dropped at the tail end of 2008 the packaging and prices stayed the same. Now, in 2009, it looks like they changed their mind and are more than willing to pass the prices on to consumers. Starting yesterday, January 18, Kellogg Co. put into effect new, higher "prices on the majority of its cereal brands and Pop-Tarts toaster pastries." General Mills will most likely follow suit.
What's a consumer to do? Read the fine print and look high and low. Store brands will start looking even better now that consumers are being asked to pay even more for a smaller package.
With help from the Chicago Sun-Times/Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Convenience Store News
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