Mars Inc has reduced the size of its Galaxy smooth milk chocolate bars while keeping the price at £1.50, the latest example of shrinkflation affecting UK shoppers. The recommended retail price was raised from £1.39 to £1.50 in October last year, and now the bar has become smaller, though the company has not disclosed the exact weight reduction.
A UK spokesperson for Mars said the decision was not taken lightly but was “necessary” due to rising costs of raw materials and operations. “We have been actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs … as we know the increase in the cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses,” they said. “Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done.”
Consumer group Which? reported in July that two-thirds of shoppers had noticed shrinkflation on everyday products, with chocolate being the most frequently cited item. Examples include Penguin multipacks now containing seven biscuits instead of eight, and Quality Street tubs shrinking from 650g to 600g.
Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumerworld.org, said shoppers are “price conscious not net weight conscious”, allowing brands to keep familiar prices while reducing product size as a “backdoor” price increase. Economist Pippa Malmgren, who coined the term “shrinkflation”, said brands hope consumers won’t notice these changes, but added that peak shrinkflation may have passed as manufacturers have already done most of the shrinking they can get away with.
Other tactics include “skimpflation”, where expensive ingredients are replaced with cheaper ones, such as reducing oil content in margarine and adding water. Mr Dworsky said manufacturers “choose the sneaky way” to pass on cost pressures to consumers.
