So many are doing this now. Many things that were 16 ounces now are 12 or 13. I, too, struggle to get things open. This is happening more and more all the time. Check out some of your repackaged meats such as hot dogs. Some now have 8 in them instead of 10.

When you buy a bag of cookies, the cookies are so small now. Salad dressing bottles are shrinking too.

I noticed the bars of Dial bath soap I just bought are a tad bit shorter now.

I'm having a new thought on this... not criticizing, but thinking, maybe smaller packaging is good. They could leave off the higher pricing, but since obesity is an obstacle now, maybe this is a good way to nip it a bit? I'm not sure, but it's a thought.

It's not just food though. The bags of coffee have been shrinking.
The bags of flour, sugar, brown sugar, all that kind of baking stuff.
All kinds of products are doing that same little trick and I guess they think we won't notice??
I don't like it when suddenly the package is completely totally different so that you just don't see it when searching for it.
I like to buy Taco Bell brand taco seasoning packets, I use it in several recipes. I have been searching all the usual stores for it and nope not there. It has always been a bright yellow and red package with Taco Bell very bright and easy to read. Well lo and behold yesterday while shopping at walmart I am looking through the area that they should be in and I am seeing all the other regular brands and then wait back up what is that solid black envelope? Can't even read the name and it is in white. So my husband grabs one for me because of course it is on the top shelf. AND it is Taco Bell! they have changed all of their packages to solid black very non descriptive and hard to read. Now how is that helping them?
I would never have looked for a black and white envelope.
And in those little boxes that hold the packets you can really only see the very top part of the envelope.

If change is for the better I can understand that but just change for change sake and not even better I don't understand. It is a risky move. And the smaller amounts are just being sneaky.

This is the bag that I was looking for, at 99 cents......and

.....here is the "new and improved". And I see that it's now 450 grams instead of 454. So less than a pound, at $1.49

Either my hands have grown or products are smaller, cereal boxes are tinier, even the newspaper is so narrow my hands look huge.

There are a couple things at play here and it's been happening for a long time.

Changing package sizes (making them smaller) while not changing the price misleads the consumer into believing nothing's changed. It seems rather deceitful, doesn't it? Breyer's Ice Cream started doing that over 10 years ago, making the container less than 2 quarts. Now there are few companies making 2 quart containers for ice cream. Note this is just an example; many MANY companies have taken the same approach. If you shave a few ounces/grams and retool the packaging, the consumer won't notice. It happens more with food items than non-food items but it still happens.

It's been happening with every product imaginable. If you were buying cheese slices, there are probably a few less ounces in the package or maybe a few less slices. If you were buying pasta, many "shapes" are 12 ounces instead of 16. Pasta sauce, soups (non-condensed), you name it.

I would imagine there are some expenses associated with retooling packing but I do think the real reason is to make higher profits. It's all kinds of strange if you think about it. Why change the assembly line to handle a slightly smaller package? Recalibrate the machines to dispense just a bit less product. Contract with a vendor to make new packaging (or retool to make it yourself). You get the idea?

If I find it, I will link to a discussion topic on another site where this same thing has been talked about for years. It's interesting.

Yes, smaller packaging has been happening for years. What I didn't expect is a completely different design, as Ravencajun noticed with her Taco Bell seasonings.
New design, less product, and more money.

I think it's more than deceitful to have a smaller quantity AND raise the price. I think it should be one or the other, but not both.

We've talked about this many times about cake mixes. Smaller amounts and it throws the whole finished product off. I know that my lemon bundt cake is smaller now.

So a 9x13 cake is much thinner than it used to be.

I don't know if it's deceitful, but it's certainly not being forthright. Some businesses do announce price increases.

I often see 4 roll packs of "regular" roll toilet paper in smaller stores. I think the whole package is the size of one double roll.

I also do not care for the resealable packages as they seldom really re-seal.

I have a vintage Tupperware container that was purchased as a soda cracker keeper. Four sleeves of crackers were a tight fit and reached the top of the container. Today I can put four fingers down two sides of the thing and still have wiggle room, and it looks like someone ate the first four crackers off the top of each stack.

I had been noting that toilet paper had shrunk, but found an old roll in a spare bedroom (no, I have no idea why it was there!) and it was about a half inch bigger, and heavier. So I was happy to see Costco's Kirkland brand, which is still the old width, and a good quality. I stocked up, as it was only about fifty cents a roll.

I also check to see where the product is made. I try to buy either US or Canadian products. I just threw out a bunch of spice gum drops, by Brach made in Mexico, because every time I ate a few, I got sick. Jelly beans too!
In today's news because of the drought in CA produce etc is going up. I do feel sorry for the CA farmers because of the lack of water. Maybe the people in the cities need to be put on rationing water to protect the farmers. They have announced that the farmers will get NO water from the gov. but look at everyone's swimming pool, green lawns etc. One farmer is pulling out 20% of his almond crop to save his farm--maybe--no water. Enough vent, guess things haven't changed much since I moved.

Marie, I've seen a couple of items on the news about the drought too. It's absolutely heart-breaking and crushing to the farmers.

I have the most utmost respect for farmers and what they do. I regularly speak to farmers across Western Canada and this year there's a surplus of wheat and they can't sell it so they are storing it in bins on their farms. They're getting paid peanuts because there is so much wheat.
But the price of seeds don't go down when they buy it in the spring! Many farmers have no idea what they are going to do......buy seed and keep farming or not.

And the price to the consumer will be high, too. Both the produce from California, and wheat products, because it's in storage. Can't win.

I remember when you could buy bulk grain products in a bin. :0) Then contamination was a problem. I still prefer to buy this way & provide my own container.

Packaging does cost money....I get it....

Yes, I believe the practice is deceitful. Kleenex bugs me the most and I rarely buy that brand anymore. Instead of just shrinking the box they have shrunk the tissues inside as well, and made them far thinner--they rattle around in that cavernous box! I have a honker and can't use fewer than 2-3 at a time.

They've been doing this forever. Remember you used to be able to buy an actual pound of coffee? Try to find one now. You can't. I used to by the family sized bag of peanut M&M's. Today they are the same size and the old single treat bag, but they now charge more for that bag than they did years ago when you could actually feed a family with them. (did that make any sense, cuz it did in my head....). Toilet paper rolls are getting smaller. Our bread delivery guy showed me the bagels are getting smaller by comparing the old with the new (Dempsters). A loaf of Dempsters bread is now one slice smaller. But the price hasn't gone up........ Doh, yeah it has, you made it smaller!

Manufacturers want the shelf space to stay large -- that's their 'in your face' advertising. So, they shrink the *contents*.

I look at the cost per ounce in packaged goods. I look at the cost per square foot on paper products. (So far Kirkland has been the only brand I've found that doesn't look skimpy in the TP holders in my home.)

I went to the store tonight to grab a few groceries, and noticed bread on sale for 2 for $5. Not a good price but better than some, it was next to Dempster's on the shelf. They have many kinds now from ancient grains to sprouts and others, I think it may have been Country Harvest. One of them stood out as it was on the end and eye level. I just wish I had had my phone in the store to take a picture so I could show you what I saw. It was tomato vegetable or something like that and I was in disbelief. The packaged bag was the same size as the others and had about six inches of plastic after the twist tie but the bread had only one heel. The loaf had actually been split in half and sold for the same price. There may have been nine slices of bread and the heel in it.

Another plus for Costco is their Kirkland coffee. The price is $8.99 for THREE pounds! I think it is quite good, too. I stock up on that and the toilet paper when I get the chance.

Let's talk about aluminum foil. It is sooooo thin. I don't find Reynold's and Alcan to be of very good quality any more at all. I also bought a 500' roll of HandiWrap that was less than 1/2 price; ($7). I'll never buy it again, it's paper thin. I couldn't imagine paying full price for it.

Price increases seem to be much more frequent so far this year. Soon they will be teaching chickens to lay smaller eggs?

Chickens already seem to lay smaller eggs, OldFixer, by the look of what they call 'large' eggs!

Chicken packaging may be deceitful from Mother Nature. Maybe the package is smaller, but the contents are the same? Last box of x-tra large eggs (99 cents), all were double yolk.

Yogurt used to be 175 millilitres ... then 150, 125, then 112 ... and now 100. Pretty well the same price.

I remember several years ago that a package of cookies that had been $1.99 ... went to $2.47, a 25% increase.
I stopped buying them - haven't bought one since.

But - I goofed: should have asked to speak to the store manager and shared my thoughts with him/(her?)!

Same with ice cream ... most used to be 2 litres ... then many changed to 1.66 litres, some to 1.5. One company, that was locally owned but not long ago bought by a big chain, continue to produce the 2 litre containers, so I buy theirs. Won't even buy the shrink-wrapped ones, even if their price per unit is lower.

But ... once more - haven't told the store manager of my complaint.

Recently, a pack of cookies that used to be in a package of a certain size, with 3-space plastic tray inside, has left space between the container part of the tray and the outside of it, so that upwards of 20 - 25% of the total space is ... air.

I plan to tell the store manager that I figure that to be pretty expensive air!

rant completed.

ole joyfuelled ... with some (expensive) yogurt, cookies and ice cream to help

Talking to a store manager won't do you any good. He's only passing on the price to you. When a store is charged 25% more from the wholesaler, he has to pass that increase on to his customers. But you won't believe how much stuff a store sells for below cost. We pay $6.06 for one 2 litre jug of 2% milk. We sell that jug of milk for $4.59. When our eggs are on sale for $1.99, you are getting one heck of a bargain. We pay about $2.37 a dozen for those eggs. I know this because I'm the receiver and see the invoices. :)