Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
30 Times Brazen Companies Shrunk Their Products For The Same Or Higher Price And People Exposed Them Online (New Pics)
No, it’s not your mind playing tricks on you or another unexpected growth spurt, dear Pandas—those products you’re buying at your local supermarket or fast food restaurant are genuinely getting smaller. Welcome to the weird world of shrinkflation, where ethics goes out the window, your purchasing power takes a nose-dive, and everyone’s grumpy about corporate decisions once they figure out what's happening behind the scenes.
The r/shrinkflation subreddit collects some of the most egregious examples of product sizes shrinking but the prices staying the same (or, in some cases, rising). Scroll down to check out the very worst offenders that people spotted out in ‘the wild.’
Bored Panda reached out to Matt Johnson, Ph.D., a consumer psychology specialist, host of the human nature blog, and the author of ‘Branding that Means Business,’ to learn about shrinkflation. You'll find our full interview with him, including why it's so important for businesses to be transparent with their customers, as you scroll down below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Pret A Manger Taking Out The Main Bit
RELATED:
#2
The Shrink Flation Of Quality Street Over The Years Is Truly Embarrassing
Take me to dinner first 3 years ago
The fact that you keep their package since the 80s should put you in the brand's vip list
#3
Apparently 15oz Is "Bigger Size, Better Value" Than 18oz
#4
Spotted Mid Changeover
#5
The Way They Switched The Millilitres And Grams Almost Tricked Me
#6
Attraction Of Unprecedented Generosity From S7. Chicken Sandwich
#7
On The Right The Normal Toblerone And On The Left The New Shrinkflated Toblerone
#8
My Allergy Pills I Still Have To Pay The Same Price
#9
Chocolate Digestives Disappeared Off The Shelves For 2 Months, Then Came Back 27% Smaller
#10
Nothing Is Sacred
#11
Just Opened This Pack Of Pringles It's Just Disappointing
Take me to dinner first 3 years ago
Yeah but at least it shows the weight, not amount, so it's not like it changes anything
#12
Why Shrinkflate The Package If You Can Just Put Less Product In The Same Box
#13
Costco Kirkland Signature Toilet Paper, Sheet From 2023 vs. 2022
#14
David’s Tea, Such A Dramatic Difference…
#15
Shrinkflation At Its Finest
StumblingThroughLife 3 years ago
They try to say it's healthier for peeps .... prob true, but even healthier (£$) for the manufacturers and retailers.
#16
Shiny Stickers Can’t Fool Me
#17
New Cottee’s Jam!
#18
Added A Roll From A New Package Of Toilet Roll
#19
New 'Xl Pack' Fabric Conditioner
#20
The Fries Are Thicker Than The Burger. Burger King, Jr. Whopper
#21
My Dad Sent Me This, He’s Very Passionate About Shrinkflation
#22
Life Brand Long Panty Liners Used To Be Wide Enough To Cover The Width Of Your Panty Crotch. If You Have A Period, Don’t Worry About Pink Tax Any Longer. Shrinkflation Is Doubling Down On You From The Other Side
Sergy Yeltsen 3 years ago
How much of a corporate POS do you have to be to do this? Shows that it's nothing but a puerile, pathetic company putting the needs of it's fat, bloated shareholders first.
#23
What $15usd Buys You At Dominos In Australia Now. This Is A "Large"
#24
Not The Oreo Filling! Damn Shrinkflation!!!
#25
That Packaging
#26
Oreo Changed Their Row Direction And Decreased Net Weight. Price Had Been Steadily Increasing As Well
#27
The Amount Of Cinnamon Toast Crunch That Comes In The Box Now
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 3 years ago
Audi is much like this cereal-- lacking weight, but plenty of volume.
#28
Does This Count?
Jared Robinson 3 years ago
WTF it's literally just a shot of sugar syrup into carbonated water. It only costs the company maybe half a cent for each cup of soda. The cup itself is usually 100x more expensive then the actual soda is.
#29
Shrinkflation Combined With Price Bump = Absolute Greed
Mørkesverd 3 years ago
It's slightly concerning how close that is to "Back stabbing fish". I don't know, maybe it's just me...
#30
Definitely No Water Added To This Ground Beef To Increase Weight /S. Not Sure If This Fits But It’s A Crappy Practice Either Way
#31
When Fast Food Is No Longer Fast Nor Cheap. I Was Shocked To See How Much More Expensive These Food Items (Exactly The Same) Were With A Coupon Then Last Month
Molly Whuppie 3 years ago (edited)
In Australia our Dominos have started charging for "upgrades" when you use a coupon. It used to be you could get ANY side with a "1 pizza and 2 sides" coupon for the coupon price, but now the only side you can get is garlic bread or pepsi. Anything else is an extra $2 per side. So that $29 coupon (the price has also gone up) with upgrades is now a $33 coupon which is actually the normal price without the coupon. I just put in an order to test it without checking out, and using the coupon it says "You Saved $0.24"
#32
What A Popular Western Food Joint Thinks A 12 Dollar Burger Is Supposed To Look Like
#33
650ml -> 550ml, But Costs $0.99 More
#34
An Example Of UK Food "Shrinkflation". Same Product, Smaller Packaging, Increased Price
#35
Using Shrinkflation To Deceive Customers
Megan Curl 3 years ago
Personally, I buy the huge refill anyway, and have been reusing the same sprayer for 3 years.
#36
Big Mac
#37
This Is What $3.59 Worth Of French Fries Looks Like
#38
My Mom Just Found The Left Package In Her Storage, She Bought It About 2 Months Ago And Forgot About It. The Right Package Was Bought This Week
#39
Same Exact Box Size But 17% Less Aluminum Foil
#40
One Of The More Well Hidden Examples Of Shrinkflation
#42
$2.45 For A Slice Of Cheese?
#44
Wendy's Regular Patties Turned Into Junior Patties, And Junior Patties Turned Into Whatever The Hell This Is
#45
Approximately 3 Cups Worth Of Empty Space
#46
What Is This Bro
#47
Pillsbury Toaster Strudels Are Pathetically Small Now, Barely Any Frosting Comes In The Packets Now Too
#48
There Used To Be 3. Same Price
Weasel Wise 3 years ago
Why outside of the terrible US do so many countries wrap every fruit or veggie in plastic. Europe especially. Boasting of being progressive in everything and then can't figure out that wrapping every piece of produce in plastic is whole unnecessary and creating waste that doesn't decompose. Er....I mean Europe is perfect in every way.
#49
Work In The Hotel Industry. Our Colgate Amenities Went From 24 Grams To 4
Leonard Hamers 3 years ago
I think this is actually a good new design. Less plastic and enough to brush your teeth ...
#50
Hollow Candy Canes From Target
#51
Girl Scout Cookies
#52
But We Kept The Same Price!!
#53
Not Even A Dozen Cupcakes?!?!
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 3 years ago
How many here can remember when the local baker used to sell a true 'Bakers dozen' rolls, cakes etc...
#54
Wth Publix… Picture Looked Like The Frosting Covered The Whole Pastry. It’s The Reason Why I Bought It In The First Place. :-(
Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 3 years ago
Pop Tarts are the same way. Oddly enough, I don't buy them anymore.
#55
The Bacon In Our Hellofresh Box This Week
#56
Ice Cream Has Been 1.5 Quarts For Years After Decades Of Being 2 Qts, Now Down To 1.44 😡
#57
25% Less, Same Price
#58
A Year Ago These Used To Be Enough For A Breakfast…
#59
Toothpaste: From 100 Ml To 75 Ml. Same Fu*king Price
TheReader19 3 years ago
I've noticed this shenanigans, and I'm pissed off; smaller and more expensive 😡
#60
These Were Bought A Few Months Apart. They Shrunk The Stick By 10% And Raised The Price 35%
#61
Chipotle Has Gotten Out Of Control
#62
Still "New" And The Same Price But 140ml Smaller
#63
Saw This In The Wild At Walmart. Same Price/New Design But 50ml Less…
#64
Oral B Reducing The Length Of Floss In The Same Size Packaging 😡
#65
Batiste Dry Shampoo
#66
Reducing The Amount Of Syrup We Get Along With That Name Change
#67
I Confirmed With An Employee That These Are The "Same" Product And Price - On The Left Is The Last 10oz Box They Have In Stock
Rob Chapman 3 years ago
22% less product. And, I'm betting they were 2 for $5 before the box shrank.
#68
Bigger Does Not Equal More
#69
Here Is Some More From Working Pricing
#71
KFC Tenders
#72
I Didn't Want To Have To Post This, But The Amount Of Rainbow Sprinkles On This Batch Of Blueberry Pop Tarts Is Absolutely Dismal
Sergy Yeltsen 3 years ago
I would say the amount of icing is dismal as well, but I've not seen a real poptart in the wild.
#73
Laughing Cow Wedges
#74
$10 Used To At Least Get You 10 Wings
#75
Mcdonald’s Nuggets Are So Much Thinner Now! My Photo, And Their Website Photo
🇷🇺🇺🇦ЛеснойКороль(they/he) 3 years ago
i used to work at McD’s and i can confirm that everything there is a f*****g scam.
#76
This Yoghurt Experienced Shrinkflation. Smaller And Still The Same Price
#77
Since When Did Basic Skincare Become Such A Luxury? The Last Bottle I Bought Was 12oz For The Same Price
#78
“Burger King”
#79
2x4 Studs Over A 100 Year Period
Jake Lewis 3 years ago
This is a poor example. Has more to do with standardization and building code than shrinkflation.
#80
They Did It Again! This Was 450 Ml Few Weeks Ago
#81
The Chip Section Is Noticeably Organized With Smaller Bags All The Way Around
#82
My Dad Has Been Collecting Chinese Take Out Containers Over The Years
Craig Boddys 3 years ago
Thats more to do with the people who make the containers. The restaurants/takeaways dont make their own containers, so how can it be their fault?
#83
Kernel Season's Butter Spray: Same Size Bottle, Advertised As "20% More"
#84
They Finally Really Did It. You Maniacs! You Shrinkflated The 24 Pack! (I'm Guessing 12 Packs And Next)
Molly Whuppie 3 years ago
10 packs are pretty standard here in Australia for coke/pepsi brands. I can't recall the last time I saw a 12 pack. We still have the 24 and 30 can packs though.
#85
Older Mars Bar At The Bottom, Shrinkflated Mars At The Top
#86
Shrinkflated Shampoo
#87
'standard' Size Snickers
#88
Shrinkflated Cream Cheese Spread
#89
The Chicken Strips At Zaxby's Have Gotten So Small. Not Even Two Full Bites On One Strip
#91
Top Pic Is From A 2 Year Old Reddit Post, Bottom Pic Is From My Flight Today
#92
Chobani Complete Is No Longer Complete
#93
McDonald's Breakfast Slider Apparently
#94
Not The Timtams!!
Add New Image
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Anyone-for-tea? 3 years ago
The one that’s annoyed me the most, and I only found out from somewhere online, is Whiskas’ cat food. They have gone down from 100g packets to 85g. And hidden the number on the back somewhere so it’s much harder to find.
TheReader19 3 years ago
Anyone-for-tea; You have no idea how outraged I am about that. It's not like you can explain to cat's that they have to tighten their belts. I'm so tempted to right to the manufacturers; they're taking the living p**s 🤬
Load More Replies...
Jon Steensen 3 years ago
The worst one I have seen was somebody who could not figure out why their epensive cream seemed to run out too fast. They removed the label only to see that the container did infact hide a much smaller container inside holding the cream, and then a lot of air, surrounding it, by in fact being doublewalled like a thermos bottle.
Phyllis Turbin 3 years ago
Time to fight back and question our food choices for healthier fare. Comfort foods are great, but these companies are pushing food budgets out of reach of hard working people! We rarely go out to eat anymore.
Anyone-for-tea? 3 years ago
The one that’s annoyed me the most, and I only found out from somewhere online, is Whiskas’ cat food. They have gone down from 100g packets to 85g. And hidden the number on the back somewhere so it’s much harder to find.
TheReader19 3 years ago
Anyone-for-tea; You have no idea how outraged I am about that. It's not like you can explain to cat's that they have to tighten their belts. I'm so tempted to right to the manufacturers; they're taking the living p**s 🤬
Load More Replies... Jon Steensen 3 years ago
The worst one I have seen was somebody who could not figure out why their epensive cream seemed to run out too fast. They removed the label only to see that the container did infact hide a much smaller container inside holding the cream, and then a lot of air, surrounding it, by in fact being doublewalled like a thermos bottle.
Phyllis Turbin 3 years ago
Time to fight back and question our food choices for healthier fare. Comfort foods are great, but these companies are pushing food budgets out of reach of hard working people! We rarely go out to eat anymore.
Related on Bored Panda
