Shrinkflation – Paying More for Less Is Ridiculous
Jun 17 | 2025
Image by Gaining Visuals for Unsplash
Shrinkflation, folks. It’s happening. It’s everywhere. It’s the sneaky little scam that’s making our wallets lighter while we’re left staring at products that should be giving us more for our money. Instead? We’re getting less. Way less. For the same price.
Welcome to the world of shrinkflation, where companies play a game of “how small can we go before customers get pissed off?” We notice. How stupid do you think we are?
Let me take you through some of the most obnoxious examples of shrinkflation — cause I really gotta vent.
1. “Lighter” Premium Plus Crackers?@!?
Premium Plus crackers have gone on a diet. People compared a batch of crackers from May to the last few crackers in the April package — and guess what? The new crackers felt lighter. The box looks the same, but when you open it, there’s less in there. The size is smaller, and you’re paying the same price.
2. McDonald’s Fries Shrinking Before Your Eyes
We all know McDonald’s is the king of fast food, but even they can’t escape shrinkflation. Imagine this: you pull up, order your large fries, and, from one week to the next, it’s not your imagination — McDonald’s packaging for large fries shrank.
3. Orange Juice Shrinkage
The bottle of OJ we all grew up with is now 6 ounces smaller. When you pour your usual glass, it barely fills it to the top. That’s shrinkflation — less for the same price.
4. Pringles New Fangled Potato Chips
Now, let’s talk about chips for a second — specifically Pringles. In comparing a 2012 can of Pringles to one from 2025, the can’s noticeably smaller, yet the price tag stayed the same. It’s like they chipped away at the tasty stack ‘o chips and left the air.
5. Frozen Pizza Magic Trick
New packaging on frozen pizza cleverly disguises the fact that the pizza now weighs 20 grams less. Wow. Somebody, please stop pretending we won’t notice the missing grams.
6. Chips Shrank from 7 oz to 5 oz
What used to be 7 ounces of crispy chips, now comes in… a 5-ounce bag. That’s a solid two ounces missing. But wait, the price is still the same. Shameful.
7. Candy Bars – 4 Pieces, Not 5
Here’s the latest affront to your taste buds — snack-sized candy bars. Those delish packs used to have 5 pieces in them, right? Now we’re down to 4 pieces per pack. But surprise, the price didn’t drop one bit. I don’t know about you, but when I’m buying a candy bar pack, I expect it to be packed with… candy—not disappointment. It’s beyond shameful that they’d pull this stunt without even so much as an apology.
8. Not The Breyers Ice Cream!
Breyers is hands-down classic American ice cream — they decided to play the shrinkflation game. Their packaging dropped from 1.66 liters to 1.41 liters. But did they adjust the price to reflect this? Nope. The price stayed the same. Let’s just call it what it is: a sneaky way of pretending we’re getting the same value when really we’re getting less for our money.
9. Even The Vegemite? How Low Can They Go?
And now, for all my Vegemite fans out there: remember when you could buy a jar of 380 grams of that hearty spread? Well, it’s been downsized to 370 grams. That’s 10 grams less of your beloved spread — and for the same price.
10. Toothpaste Gets the Shrinkflation Treatment
Let’s not forget the bathroom items. Toothpaste Shrinks
You don’t give it a thought, you open a fresh box of toothpaste, and inside is a teeny tube of toothpaste. It’s laughable — I’m supposed to get 3 months of brushing out of this? Is this how low we’ve sunk?
Shrinkflation is the ultimate betrayal. It’s a quiet, underhanded trick where companies reduce their product sizes, all while keeping prices the same. They’re counting on us not to notice — but we do. Every. Single. Time.
It’s high time we stop tolerating this scam. We might not have the power to end it, but we sure as hell can keep pointing it out.
