The unwelcome return of shrinkflation marches on

Last week a key report emerged from the Which organisation in the UK underlining the fact that many product ranges have continued to be impacted by the dreaded ‘shrinkflation’ reduction in size of products.

This, in truth, has been happening across the food and drink sector for many decade, and in years gone by, may well have gone under the radar as something that was ‘just one of those things’ where consumers suspected that such manufacturing moves were afoot, but rarely were armed with the evidence to prove it.

The reasons behind it are patently clear for all to see – ingredients costs have been ramped up significantly in the past couple of years, with climate change, crop yields and changing consumer tastes all forming core factors shaping our respective retail landscapes.

Understandably, companies have not been keen on openly admitting to reducing the size of their ranges, as nobody wants to be seen to be offering less for more, but that’s effectively what is happening within confectionery to quite a noticeable degree.

And in an age where social media means that we’re in a 24/7 environment, consumers haven’t been slow to make their feelings known about the contents of products being removed, or chocolate, sweets and snacks being reduced in size, or somehow adapted from an original form.

For its part in the UK, the latest example of this is with McVitie’s Club and Penguin chocolate biscuits now no longer having enough chocolate content in them to actually be called chocolate anymore.

This sent marketeers into something of a panic, with the brand slogans hastily adapted to counter the new landscape, and retailers being prompted to deliver special offers on these brands, as they face a potential fallout from shoppers who may no longer feel like they’re getting what they previously had.

Indeed, it’s this brand loyalty that is an exceptionally hard thing to capture in the exceedingly competitive food and drink sector, so manufacturers beware – if you alter a winning formula too much, it might just come back to haunt you down the line, as the consumer is always right as the saying goes.

• Keep in touch at [email protected] or via social media @confectionprod