In recent months, consumers have faced rising prices and reduced product sizes as retailers and manufacturers adjust to increasing production costs. Tesco, one of the UK's leading supermarkets, has implemented several changes, including a 52p increase in the price of its sausages and a 46% rise in the price per 100ml of its spreadable butter. Additionally, the pork content in Tesco's Finest sausages has decreased from 97% to 90%. These changes have left many consumers questioning the value they receive for their money.
The trend extends beyond Tesco, affecting other major retailers and products. Yeo Valley's spreadable butter has seen its butter content reduced from 54% to 50%, while its organic dairy brand has downsized product sizes to maintain accessibility. In the ready-meal sector, Tesco's "tex mex" chicken enchiladas now contain less meat, dropping from 27% to 20%. Similarly, Morrisons and Sainsbury's have both reduced the beef content in their lasagne offerings, impacting The Best and Taste the Difference lines respectively.
In the realm of personal care, Listerine Fresh Burst mouthwash has been identified as an example of shrinkflation, with its bottle size reduced from 600ml to 500ml—a 17% decrease. Kenvue, the manufacturer of Listerine, attributes these changes to rising costs in raw materials and production.
“Like many other manufacturers, we are faced with cost increases, especially in raw material and production costs, and have had to adjust our prices,” said a spokesperson for Kenvue.
The consumer group has criticized these practices, suggesting that retailers and manufacturers are reducing product sizes and quality while maintaining or increasing prices.
“Our research shows that, while some popular products are subtly decreasing either in size or quality, the same can’t be said for their prices – which means shoppers are inadvertently paying more for less,” stated Ele Clark, retail editor at the consumer group.
Tesco has defended its decisions, noting that changes to products are often made to enhance taste or health benefits. The retailer reformulated its sausages in 2021 with this intention in mind. However, consumers remain wary as they navigate a challenging economic landscape characterized by an ongoing cost of living squeeze.
“Given the challenges facing households from the cost of living squeeze, retailers are solely focused to find ways to limit rising prices for customers against the rising cost of production, while maintaining the excellent quality of products,” emphasized Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
Yeo Valley has expressed its commitment to keeping organic food accessible despite necessary reductions in pack sizes.
“While pricing is set by retailers, we made the hard decision to reduce the pack size to help keep organic [food] as accessible as possible,” explained Liz Jones, brand manager at Yeo Valley.
With consumer confidence at stake, transparency remains a crucial issue.
“Supermarkets and manufacturers must be more upfront by making sure changes to popular products are clear, and by ensuring that unit pricing is prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online so that shoppers can easily compare prices across different brands and pack sizes,” advised Ele Clark.