I heard a news report on the radio just the other day saying how much smaller containers of ice cream were getting, as well as other foods.

I have also noticed how narrow the cereal boxes have gotten. I never purchase commercial cereal because it's a complete waste of my food money, in my opinion, but I saw the skinny boxes on an end cap at Wal-Mart and felt sorry for families who pay those outrageous prices for a few cents worth of extruded grain products. I read there's approx. 17-cents of grain in them; and that means the rest of the price of a box of cereal is the packaging and advertisement.

With all the changes in the food amounts in the box/bag/can, if you are a bargain hunter like me, you have to be sure to check the unit price. Cans have remained approximately the same size while the weights are getting smaller.

When you make those old recipes that call for a 16-oz. can of something, you're sure to see anything BUT 16-oz. I bought 2 of the small cans that are still 8-oz. to get the full 16-oz. I needed for an 'old' recipe.

-Grainlady

This "inflation" has been going on for quite some time, quietly decreasing the contents just enough so you don't notice, particularly if you hurry through this grocery shopping. I try to remember to include oz in recipes which call for a can or jar of something. I have old recipes that call for tall can of evaporated milk, etc. but that has changed and will probably change again. The higher priced ice cream has been decreasing for at least a couple of years that I've noticed, now the buckets are getting smaller according to news reports. Dairy products are shooting up in price but they claim they keep losing money, hard to understand.

Uhm...

I hate to tell you this, but Breyer's and Edy's/Dwyer's is now selling 1.5 quart half gallons.

Yep, they have dropped the quantity ANOTHER quarter quart.

This started a few weeks ago.

I sent a REALLY nasty message to Breyer's, to the effect of:

"I understand that everything costs more, but to drop the size of the container while maintaining the price, rather than simply raising the price, is deceitful and a most disgusting display of corporate arrogance.

I have a suggestion, however, that will allow Breyer's to maximize its profit and ensure a continuing revenue stream for all time.

Simply do away with your product altogether, and enter into agreements with all of the major grocery chains that every customer will automatically be charged for a "half gallon" of your product; more or less a fee for admission.

That way Breyer's can do away with those pesky, profit draining things like employees, benefits, milk, cream, sugar, distribution, physical plants, etc. All's you'd need would be a few accountants to keep track of the massive income and a stuffed shirt to go before the investors and proclaim "Our profits are through the roof through our innovative marketing techniques."

Somehow, I suspect that that has already been discussed in your corporate boardroom.

As for me? Well, I USED to be a loyal Breyers customer, but no more.

I'll seek out and purchase products offered by companies that don't engage in devious slight of hand."

Oddly enough, no one from their corporate headquarters ever contacted me about my profit escalation plan.

I suspect that I'll never hear anything from them, as a matter of fact.

makes you wonder just how stupid they thin we consumer are!!!

The supermarkets where I shop all display unit prices as well as total price for most products. This is the only basis that I would use for anything I want to shop for by price. How else would I know if the big fat paper towel rolls are a better deal than the smaller ones? The answer for those seems to change by the week by the way.

I completely understand ysop complaining about an advertised half gallon that is not a half gallon but unless there is something missing from kframe's explanation I don't understand his/her point at all.

I agree, Kframe, that's very deceptive. I've long complained about the 4 lb. bags of sugar that used to be 5 pounds.

It's not just the grocery store, though. 2x4s at the lumber yard are now 1 3/4 x 3 1/2 or so. They still call them 2x4s.

Annie

"The supermarkets where I shop all display unit prices as well as total price for most products."

Mine do, too.

Only, they display the unit prices for what is currently on the shelves, not what was on the shelves several weeks ago.

There are no signs saying:

UNIT PRICE, XX per ounce

UNIT PRICE last month, when the container was bigger and the price was the same, XX per ounce.

Effective Price Increase, XX Percent.

I've yet to see one of those.

But, you miss my point entirely.

These companies are doing this as a back handed way of raising the price. It's been shown that a LOT of people shop visually, homing in on products whose packaging they recognize. They also recognize a higher shelf price, but what fewer people catch are smaller containers that hold less product.

The coffee companies were the ones who really pioneered this little trick. A "One Pound" can of coffee has, over the years, gotten as small as 9 ounces.

Then we have the wonderful stores that have this kind of unit pricing on similar products right next to each other...

UNIT PRICE, XX per ounce

UNIT PRICE, XX per quart

or my favorite...

UNIT PRICE, XX per LITRE.

That's right, I once came across that, right here in the good old United States where the metric system is about as embraced as a rabid porcupine and about as used as a "Hillary for President" bottle of celebratory champagne.

So, unless you're an absolute math whiz, or you remember to bring the calculator with you, it's rather difficult to figure out.

"2x4s at the lumber yard are now 1 3/4 x 3 1/2 or so."

Been like that for close to 100 years, Annie.

2x4 is the dimension of what goes into the kiln.

What comes out of the kiln and gets tipped through the finish planer comes out at 1 3/4 by 3 1/2.

That's not a case of actually reducing the amount of product that goes into a container. In the case of wood products, those extra dimensions end up as waste, wood chips.

I noticed the Edy's latest reduction a few weeks ago. I went to grab my kids favorite slow churned Caramel ice cram and noticed that it was an inch or so shorter than the flavor right next to it! I was so po'ed that I didn't buy it and went and spent MORE money to buy a quart of another local favorite ice cream. It took me quite some time to get used to 1.75 qt containers.

This has been going on for years, though. I remember when I started working grocery in 1980 (wait! I'm not that old!). A small bag of potato chips was 8 oz. Then 7. Then 6. Now 5.

and kframe--I've always hated the inconsistent unit pricing, too.

then there's the incredible shrinking coffee can ... from 16-oz to l5-oz to l4-oz to 13-oz. Sure messed up those old recipes for "Cake in a Can"

Well I bought a gallon of Wells Blue Bunnie ice cream and the gallon sized contained a gallon and a quart, so at least with one ice cream company the ice cream is actually bigger than what you think.

Stacie
girlsingardens

kframe: I am happy to agree to disagree, but I would like to respectfully make some counterpoints before signing off.

If your market is not providing compatible unit prices then you should take issue with the market and not the brand. I myself never noticed this with the arguable exception of Bounty paper towels. The unit price is based on a 100 count which makes it very difficult to compare regular paper towels to select-a-size towels without taking out a calculator and figuring it all out by square foot.

Last week's price to this week's price makes little difference. Inflation is a fact of life so all that can really be compared is relative price. If one coffee or ice cream company accounts for inflation by raising the price of the container and another decreases container size I have no problem as long as you are given a compatible unit price to compare.

Maybe some people who do not pay attention will be fooled. I would like to think of myself in kayskats' group of consumers who are not that stupid.

Another variable to throw into the equation are weight/quality issues.

For ice cream, manufacturers whip air into the product. So your true 'half gallon' of one brand may in fact contain far less than a '1.5' half gallon of another. One would have to weight the containers in front of the freezer if the unit price is given in volumes.

For paper towels, same thing. You may pay x cents per one hundred for one brand, but another cheaper brand may be useless due to flimsyness etc. I truthfully don't know if weight makes a difference in this case but I think y'all get my point, I hope.

"Last week's price to this week's price makes little difference."

You're

Still

Missing

The

Point

I have already said that yes, prices increase. In fact, I have already said that I would MUCH rather have the same sized container for an increased price than a smaller container for the same price.

What these companies are doing is pushing through transparent price increases.

It's the METHOD of how these companies are implementing the price increase that is at issue, NOT the fact that prices are increasing.

Don't you wonder why companies choose this method of increasing prices over just keeping the same container size?

After all, changing container size comes with a lot of ancillary costs -- recalibrating equipment, manufacturing (or having manufactured) the new container, etc.

Keeping the same container size and boosting the price wouldn't involve any of that.

Companies know, though, that the quickest way to get customer to shift to another brand is to increase the shelf price.

So, they go the backdoor route, decrease the quantity in the container and keep the shelf price the same, banking on the fact that consumers are far less likely to notice a smaller container at the same price then they are a higher shelf price.

The proof of that is that it's a commonplace tactic.

So, once again, I would much rather have companies be up front about their need to raise prices and do so, rather than take advantage of the inattentativeness of the average consumer.

I agree that the reducing of contents, while maintaining the price , is a manipulative marketing practice.....but then again that's the purpose of Marketing.

What I wished they do is reduce their packaging at the same time. I would pay as much, or more, for less if the packaging was also reduced.

I hate packaging! If it's not impossible to get into it's twice or three times the size it needs to be. They could cut major costs by packaging their products in a size appropriate to the contents.

To add insult to injury a lot of packaging is not recyclable......at least not here.

Did I mention how much I hate packaging?

All that packaging is to protect the contents on its trip from China! :)

/t

kframe - Maybe the discussion needs to move from ice cream which is an unhealthy luxury that people may cap their spending on and canned coffee which except in high volume institutional settings benefits the consumer to have a smaller volume so it stays as good as canned ground coffee can possibly be in the first place.

chase mentions marketing. A big part of marketing is what people will pay for something. If it people are so much more willing to pay $3.50 for 1.75 quarts than $4.00 for 2 quarts then the marketing folks have done their jobs well and the cost of recalibrating the equipment was well worth it.

Note that no one so far in this discussion has said "I never noticed the smaller packaging."

I do not think I have missed any points. I think I simply disagree with you. Which is what I already said I am happy to do.

By the way I do agree on you on lumber. Nominal sizes have been standard since long before my father was born.

Yes, I'm aware that lumber has been that size forever, remember, my Dad was a furniture builder. However, it's still marketed as a 2" x4". The local ads advertise 2" x 4" studs. A contractor or whoever will know that it isn't 2" x 4", in spite of the advertisement plainly stating that it is so. However, someone like my boss who was building some garden beds measured her space, decided what she wanted and was a couple of inches off because she assumed that 2" x 4" was indeed 2" x 4". That is absolutely not true and if we're talking about incorrect or deceptive advertisement, I think that fits right in, no matter how long it's been going on. Sell a 2x4, not a 2" x 4" stud, geez.

100 years from now that 1.5 quart half gallon of ice cream will be the norm, with everyone saying "it's been that way for 100 years". It doesn't make it accurate or correct.

And, foodonastump, the first time I bought a 4 pound bag of sugar, I didn't realize that it wasn't a 5 pound bag. I've bought 5 lbs my whole life and when I picked up a bag at a "good price" I got home before I realized that it was only 4 pounds. I've been ticked off ever since.

Annie

I noticed this with Turkey Hill ice cream this week. In fact, I put back the carton of Philadelphia-style vanilla bean that I normally buy because it is now 1.5 quarts. Instead, I bought the 1.75 quart of regular vanilla bean. Why don't they just stamp it "Less ice cream, same price."

I'll investigate other brands, like Blue Bunnie and Mayfield, and just might switch. I don't buy yogurt in 6-ounce containers either - only 8-ounce.

How come everything is getting thinner and lighter except me??

Yes, I did notice that cereal boxes are narrower and pretty soon we will be buying yogurt in thimbles.

It all comes down to the old adage "let the buyer beware." I usually am pretty oblivious but the total at the cash register is making me pay attention. I only shop for one person, with some extras in case my son comes over to raid the fridge, so I just have been buying what I need and want. Now I am going back to my "family at home" days and watching for bargains.

I've noticed that a lot of non-food items that I buy at the grocery store are significantly less expensive when they are on sale at the drug store.

The 1/2 gal ice cream being less than 1/2 gal has been true for years. Blue Bell, a (wonderful!) brand local to Texas (not sure but they may also sell in some neighboring states) specifically advertises that their 1/2 gallon is STILL 1/2 gallon. Their prices have gone up but at least you know what you're getting. Not to mention, their ice cream is, without a doubt, the best available in the grocery stores here.

I once made the mistake of buying a "half-gallon" of another brand of coffee flavor ice cream (my personal fave) because it was on sale.... it was pretty much flavorless compared to Blue Bell.

I do not work for Blue Bell or have any affiliation with them, I just love the stuff. "We eat all we can and we sell the rest."

Oh, and just for amusement value, I had to go by the store yesterday, so I swung by the ice cream aisle.

The shelf price on Breyers is up 45 cents a "half gallon" in the last two weeks where I shop.

So, not only did Breyers drop the amount of ice cream in the carton, effectively raising the price, Safeway also jacked up the shelf price.

Double whammy.

1.5 quarts of Breyers is now almost $6.50.

If I'm figuring it correctly, I believe that's nearly a 33% price increase in less than a month.

That's almost as much as Hagen Das, and pardon my French, but I'll be goddamned if I'll pay that much for ice cream.

Would you be willing to pay half that? If so then run back to Safeway because Breyers is on 2 for 1 sale through tomorrow.

As any cost conscious shopper knows at least one major brand (Edy's, Breyers, Friendly's) is on 2 for 1 sale often enough to bulk up with enough to last you until next time.

This time I know that I am

Missing

The

Point

but I thought I would just mention it in case you did not see the sign. I saw it on sale in Annapolis and just checked a random VA store online to be sure that was not just a local sale.

Just for clarification, does the container still say "half gallon" or does it say 1.5 quarts?

Not that it changes the point, just wondering if it was false advertising as well.

ysop's was the only mention of it being advertised as a half gallon. Annie's 2x4s are the only other potential accusation of false advertising.

I think that this is very much to the point.

Ok back to lurking now. I seem to do that better without irritating others. Good day.

I'll go aff on a tangent here (hee-hee) - I can't buy certain things like ice cream at supermarkets anymore - I try not to go to the super at all. I go to the ice cream freezers and there are so many "non-fat" "reduced fat" "reduced sugar" "low-carb" "light" "light non-fat" "new!" "old-fashioned" "improved taste" "new improved reduced everything" etc, etc. Gah!!! My eyes glaze over and I run screaming down the aisle.

Then I go to Trader Joes and pick up the only french vanilla available there. Whew! Overwhelmed, middle-aged brain catastrophe averted.

foodonastump why do you think you are irritating? We often enjoy debate on this forum......your point of view is as valid as anyone else's...and anyone else's is as valid as yours.

If you enjoy a divergence of opinion , a respect for that divergence, and a love of food please join us. If not..........

Foodon,
The sign on the freezer case stated the price for 1/2 gal. of i.c.

Whether or not the smaller package is actually labeled as "1/2 gal." is a moot point. Half gallons were a standard size for many years. Now, the 64 oz. package has disappeared. In some cases it has been replaced by a 48 oz. package, a size as close to 32 oz. as it is to 64 oz.

Let's think of the new package as a quart. That makes as much sense as calling it a half gallon and we can feel good about getting a few extra ounces with the quart instead of feeling bad about the shrunken half gallon.

Jim

The fist time I noticed ice cream is now 1.75 qts I didn't like it but I really wanted ice cream so I got it. A month or so later I noticed they went down to 1.5 qts this time I didn't get any. I wont buy any more ice cream until the 1 gallon containers shrink to 2 qts so I can buy a half gallon again. The rate they are going it wont be long.

I likely wouldn't have noticed in the store except they still had some of the unshrunken ice cream containers on the shelf. I am surprised they don't pull them when they downsize to keep customers from noticing.

I'm just waiting for gas stations to sell gas by the quart instead of the gallon.

"Would you be willing to pay half that? If so then run back to Safeway because Breyers is on 2 for 1 sale through tomorrow."

No, I wouldn't.

That would only be supporting a company whose underhanded marketing tactics I have publically decried.

As I said, while I love Breyers, I'm through with them.

I'll make my own, I'll buy another brand, or I'll go with out.

Just a few points (only because chase is encouraging me!)

kframe - By my calculations you need about 2.25 cups of HC to make 1.5 quarts of ice cream. At my local prices that would cost $2.92 for the cream alone. Unless you have a cow in your back yard it is probably cheaper to buy ice cream. On sale of course.

ysop - I agree with your objection, as I have all along.

Annie - My sugar says 5 pounds. It's not full so I can not weigh it. Is yours labeled 5 or 4?

Jim - Packaging changes all the time. We actually got MORE soda when they switched to liters.

To reiterate the point that I cannot seem to get through: If quarts of milk were reduced in size that would be a bit stupid since the average household (with young children, anyway) goes through a set amount of milk a week. They have to buy that much milk. Ice cream on the other hand is a luxury. So I can see where at regular prices many people will be more willing to buy 1.5 quarts for $6 than a half gallon for $8. I know I would balk at $8. Obviously the marketing teams at several brands agree.

Now I am REALLY done. If I ever post again it will be a recipe. Promise.

"Lumber Dimensions
2x4s are not actually 2 inches by 4 inches. When the board is first rough sawn from the log, it is a true 2x4, but the drying process and planing of the board reduce it to the finished 1.5x3.5 size. Here are the common sizes of lumber, and their actual sizes."

Here is a link that might be useful: lumber dimensions

oops

kframe already said that

better

"kframe - By my calculations you need about 2.25 cups of HC to make 1.5 quarts of ice cream."

Yes, it's generally more expensive to make your own ice cream.

But have I said, anywhere, that the overall cost is what I object to?

No.

And besides, NO ONE makes my signature flavor of ice cream... cinnamon nutmeg.

"To reiterate the point that I cannot seem to get through:... ice cream is a luxury."

So what?

The status of an item in a family's grocery order is NOT the issue.

The issue is how the company is conducting its purchasing interaction with the consumer -- above board, or underhanded and sneaky.

I know you've been tossing out the fact that ice cream is a "luxury" item. I've not addressed it because it's not germane for the reason I've stated above.

The milk comparison is even less valid as I'll got months without purchasing milk.

To me, milk isn't even a necessity, but again, its importance on my overall shopping list isn't the issue.

If I had not promised not to post to this again, I would say something like "On their FAQ page Breyers states how they followed other brands' leads by reducing the quantity in order not to have to raise the shelf price. Six of one, half dozen of the other. You think that is underhanded and sneaky, I do not. Obviously we will never agree on this one. It is really not that big a deal."

But I promised I would not post here again, so I will not say all that.

foodonastump, can ya break your promise one more time...I'm intrigued by your username. (mine is boring) Got a story behind that? We LOVE stories on the Cooking Forum!

Yeah, they've been doing that for years and years .... ever read George Orwell's "1984"? They talked about doing that with candy bars. They keep the packaging the same size, and reduce the quantity. Food manufacturers think people are stupid, and I guess we are, because we keep buying their stuff. >:-(

I always laugh at the new "whipped" 3 Musketeers ad. I told DH, "oh, they use less ingredients and whip more air into them. So now they're special." LOL!

"Now I am REALLY done. If I ever post again it will be a recipe. Promise."

Too bad. Now there is no point in my responding to the statement you directed at me.

Plus, as you said in the follow-up to your final post, "Obviously we will never agree on this one. It is really not that big a deal."

Jim

We could start talking about toilet paper. Pretty soon a "regular" roll will be about 5 squares long, while a double roll will be half the size of what most toilet paper rolls used to be. Now we almost have to buy the mega rolls in order to get decent size rolls of tp.

I was going to bring up Bluebell, too, which really still is 1/2 gallon. When I saw that on their label I didn't understand why they put it on their label. Now I do. Gina, I don't have to go into a panic in the icecream isle no matter how many choices, simply because I live in Texas. The stores might as well only stock Bluebell, cause it's the only icecream I have eyes for. Lowspark is right about it being the absolute best.

Sally

OK, Sally, you and Lowspark are going to convince me to try Bluebell yet. :) I've picked it up several times and put it back down soon as I saw that "artificial flavor" on the label. But it's got such a blasted loyal following, maybe I should just give in and try it.

Then again, MIL bought a "half gallon" the other day and I could have sworn the darn container was empty, there was so much air whipped into it.

Annie, I've been annoyed about the incredibly shrinking sugar and flour bags for years.

But, yeah, people fall for it. I used to have people come in and give us seven kinds of grief about coffee prices because they swore up and down they could get X Brand for MUCH cheaper per pound. Lo and behold, X brand's "pound" was 12 oz and when you did the math per ounce ours was usualy the same price or less and had not been sitting on the warehouse shelf for months. Some people still couldn't grasp that.

Well, today I bought 1.75 gal. of Breyer's Vanilla (not Vanilla Bean, which is what I think they used to call it). It was on sale for $3.89. I also bought 1.75 gal. of Green's Chocolate Marshmallow. Don't know if it's any good, but I've been dying for CM). It was $3.34. Even though they're both 1.75 gal., the Breyer's container is smaller, so I'm assuming Green's has more air.

Last night, DH and I went out for ice cream. It was Lappert's super premium, trucked in from CA. Two dishes of ice cream - 3 scoops total - and 2 shave ices for $14.50. Cheaper to buy Haagen-Daz or Ben & Jerry's and eat it at home - but then again, I don't have a shave ice machine at home :)

According to Bluebell's map, it's not sold in Virginia; otherwise, I'd give it a shot.