Consumers are increasingly facing a trend known as shrinkflation, where product sizes decrease while prices rise.
- Recent investigations reveal that products in major supermarkets have surged in price, doubling in some instances compared to last year.
- Specific examples include McVitie’s Digestives and Penguin biscuits, which have seen reductions in size but increases in cost.
- Economic pressures, including the war in Ukraine, have been identified as contributing factors to rising production costs.
- Food inflation is anticipated to persist at double-digit rates through the end of 2023, affecting consumer pricing.
Consumers are increasingly experiencing the effects of shrinkflation, a phenomenon where the size of the products decreases while their prices increase. This has been particularly evident across several major supermarkets, where an investigation has found prices have surged, with some items doubling in price compared to the previous year.
Among the affected products are McVitie’s Digestives and Penguin biscuits, both of which have been reduced in size, yet their costs to consumers have increased. For example, the standard pack size of McVitie’s Digestives was reduced from 400g to 360g, with its price rising by 20p to £1.80. Similarly, Penguin biscuits’ multi-pack has dropped from eight bars to seven while the price increased from £1.25 to £1.50.
A spokesperson for Pladis, the company producing McVitie’s and Penguin biscuits, indicated that widespread inflationary pressures across the supply chain have resulted in increased input costs throughout 2023. This has been partly attributed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has escalated costs for commodity crops like wheat and vegetable oils used extensively in British biscuit production.
Additionally, changes have been observed in other products such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise, where containers have been reduced from 800g to 600g, despite a 14% increase in price to £3.75. Ingredients such as olive oil and eggs, crucial to mayonnaise production, have seen significant price hikes, with olive oil prices increasing by 49% in the year leading to March 2023.
Economists have signalled that food inflation will likely remain in double digits until the end of 2023, suggesting that consumers should prepare for continued price increases in food products over the foreseeable future.
Consumers are advised to brace for sustained inflationary pressures impacting food prices through the end of the year.
