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Trips to the grocery store can be pretty frustrating for many people these days. If you’re not dealing with a blatant case of sneakflation, you’re faced with misleading product packaging that may make you curse the heavens for the existence of corporate consumerism.
Hyperbole aside, you can also snap photos for the internet to see, much like what these people did. The following images may evoke a mix of laughter, despair, and disappointment – all at the same time.
Scroll through and feel free to join in the conversation by sharing photos of your own if you have any.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Contains Vitamins B3, B6, B12, And Zinc, Except It Doesn't Contain Those
RELATED:
#2
My Expectations Were Low, But Holy Cow
#3
Standard Misleading Packaging
Misleading packaging to make the wrap look longer than it is.
There are several ways companies deceive consumers through their packaging. Researchers from Kiel University in Germany found that it also happens through the color of packages.
According to their findings, products with a lighter color are more likely to be perceived as “healthier” but with “less taste.” This supposed tactic has a significant influence on a consumer’s decision to make a purchase.
#4
Is Anyone Else Bothered By Deceptive Packaging Like This?
michael Chock 3 weeks ago
I promise the dishonest packaging cost more than the product it replaced. Just a scam to buy more often
#5
A New Low From Colgate. This Tube Came In This Box! I Feel Done Over
Snazzy Smurf 3 weeks ago
What had happened was....they used the old box and replaced the actual toothpaste with a member of the shrinkflation brigade.
#6
This Battery Company Has Started Changing The Packaging To Make You Think You're Getting Two Free Batteries, They Normally Come In An 8 Pack Anyways
Companies really need to stop doing this.
Deceptive packaging is a form of false advertising, which is both illegal and unethical. Yet, why do companies resort to this tactic? According to author and entrepreneur Amanda Arthur Krill, competitive pressure tends to push corporations into this direction.
“The long-term repercussions may prove detrimental, eventually resulting in lost credibility and consumer trust,” Krill wrote.
#7
Huge Foam Block Inside Pack Of Kids Necklace Bead
#8
Where’s The Rest Of My Cookies? It Used To Be To The End
#9
Feeling Scammed. Oh, Boy. Does It Feel Like Bad Design, Or Is There A Better Place To Post This?
The next question would be how companies execute their misleading marketing practices. As Krill explains, they put out promotional materials that target a person’s FOMO, or appeal to their desires for beauty, approval, and success.
“Advertisers create an illusion where consumers believe purchasing their product will enable them to achieve something unattainable,” she stated.
#10
Roll Of Tape Is Quite A Bit Smaller Than Depicted (I Checked Several Boxes, They All Are Like That)
#11
Something Stinks
Brand new/unopened stick of antiperspirant. Only 40%of the tube has product. This is typical for the brand.
I'd rather less plastics and more honesty, but I know that the boardroom fat-cats are incapable of responsible ideation.
Robert T 3 weeks ago (edited)
If that photo is showing the product level up to the protuberance on the bottle, then that is about 80% full. Not everything can be packed full, as if it were to expand due to an increase in temperature it would leak or explode. As long as it has a net weight on it and is priced accordingly, there shouldn't be an issue.
#12
Coffee A Month Or So Apart
As consumers, falling victim to deceptive marketing tactics is inevitable. However, we can protect ourselves simply by having a basic understanding of these practices. According to the Chicago-based law firm Almeida Law Group, class action lawsuits are helpful but should be considered the last resort.
Being cautious of exaggerated claims would suffice. The firm also advises keeping records of transactions and communications, while being aware of common scams and fraudulent practices.
#13
This Slime Sold At Target
#14
Misleading Packaging
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 3 weeks ago
I honestly don't trust this one. Maybe it was a mistake in the factory, but these usually come with two indivudually sealed silver bags with the wafers. This one to me seems like a factory error, or OP opening the container and taking out one bag so they could post this on Reddit.
#15
I’ve Been Annoyed About This For Weeks. 75% Air. My Hands Are Small, And I Could Hold All Of It In My Palm. What Do You Mean “Share Size”
#16
Cheese Balls Size Comparison
I love stuff like this. My family has saved cheese ball buckets for years, and finally, after cleaning out some stuff, I found some with significant expiration age gaps. We've been robbed. Take me back to 2010. It's absolutely ridiculous how they reduced the size and thought we wouldn't notice.
#17
This Veet Packaging Designed To Make You Waste Product (And Buy More)
I was using this hair removal cream earlier today, and it stopped dispensing. Tried the usual tricks to get some to pump out, no dice. But it felt too heavy to be actually empty. So, I tried taking the top off, thinking there'd be a little in the bottom I could scoop out and use.
Got it open; it turns out the tube to the pump only goes about halfway down, and the cream is actually in a bag inside. The bag was connected to the opening, so I cut it to get the bag free.
Bewitched One 3 weeks ago
Wait? You couldn’t even unscrew the pump top… had to literally cut through the plastic bottle? That’s ridiculous
#18
I Got The Last 12 Pack. Same Price
#19
Misleading Packaging. Less Than Half Full. Of Minis, No Less
#20
New vs. Old Swiss Cake Rolls
New Swiss Cake Rolls on the left and the old ones on the right... Banana for science.
I found some old Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls in a lunch bag I forgot about... Pre-covid. Surprisingly enough, after several years at room temperature, they look edible.
#21
Twizzler Hiding How Much Shorter Their Product Is With Extra Packaging
#22
Look, I Know I Ordered A “Small” KFC Popcorn Chicken, But This Is Hilarious
#23
Am I Crazy Or Did Pringles Get This Small Without Me Noticing? Especially When They Are Like 5 Bucks When Not On Sale
#24
Pop Tarts - Since Y'all Caught On About Frosting, Now They're Just Smaller
I thought a new one looked a bit small, so I compared it to a different box we've had for a while. The new ones are half an inch shorter than the old ones. At least the frosting is reasonable.
#25
Seriously? All Stick. $6 For These
#26
Woolies Underweight Again. Other Tub Was 224g With Packaging So It’s Not My Scales
Zig Zag Wanderer 3 weeks ago
Take it back, you'll get a refund or better. This is Australia, not a dystopian country.
#27
The Amount Of Air I Have To Squeeze Out Before Getting Any Glue Is Insane
#28
My 8oz Bag Of Cheese Was Only 4oz
#29
The Cookie Inside This Wrapper Has No Chocolate At All
#30
A “Roll” Of Wrapping Paper At Target
One roll can only handle two or three presents now… Skip Target if you need gift wrap!
#31
KFC You Cannot Be Serious
#32
They’re Trying To Make It Look Like There’s A Lot More Nerf Darts Packaged
#33
The Deceptive Padding Beneath These Strawberries
DowntownStevieB 3 weeks ago
It's not deception because of two things: 1. The package is clear, 2. The towel is needed for moisture.
#34
Just Opened The Pack And Theres Not A Single Chocolate One
#35
Big Container, Not Much In It
Bought this from Walmart. I don’t have a weigh scale, and it doesn’t really matter. I’m guessing this really is 1.3 kg, but the powder only filled the container to about 1/4. Absolutely unreal. This is one way to waste packaging. And extremely deceptive. I’ll be buying from Dollarama from now on, as you at least get a nearly full container.
#36
These Used To Be As Long As The Package
Mia Chapman 3 weeks ago
Ever since my friend called these “gay bacon” that’s all I think of when I see these
#37
Oreos As Advertised In Their Commercials vs. What A Modern Oreo Really Looks Like
#38
Pasta Sauce Getting 8% Smaller And Water Is Now First Ingredient vs. Tomatoes
Bonus: 450mg of potassium is now 13% of DV!
And since the ingredients are being changed that much, I’m not sure the nutrition facts are now accurate.
#39
Found This "Olive Oil" In My Parents' Pantry
michael Chock 3 weeks ago
At least they are honest. The market is full of counterfeit olive oil (mostly sunflower oil)
#40
We've Officially Entered Dark Times
I think this just happened. Opened pkg of Thomas' English muffins and was shocked to see how they are now unusably small. Looks like they have trimmed 3/8" diameter off them, making the king of breakfast sandwiches undersized for even an egg. Anyone else notice?
#41
Muddy Bites From Costco Were Hardly Filled With Peanut Butter Chocolate, Even Had Some With Zero Filling
#42
This Blatant Deception
#43
Stupid Ingredient “List” For Liquid Detergent:
#44
Wyler’s Italian Ices, Last Year Versus This Year. Same Price
Kira Okah 3 weeks ago (edited)
Genuine question: when the cost of ingredients to make a product goes up, so manufacturers have to cover that additional cost in the price of the product, what's preferred? To change the ingredients to keep the same amount and price point, to keep the price point but make the product smaller, or to keep the size but increase the price to cover the cost?
#45
Guess Which One Was Purchased A Year Ago
Foxglove🇮🇪 3 weeks ago
Each serving also reduced from 160 kcal to 90 kcal, so there must have been a formulation change
#46
I Expected More
#47
At This Point Why Not Save Even More Money And Make The Bags Smaller?
Opened it fresh and then immediately took the picture. UTZ sour cream and onion ripples 2.5oz bag. But the bag is 10inches or maybe a bit taller.
#48
These Cookies Always Had Three M&Ms On Every Cookie
I’ve been eating these since I was a kid, and each cookie always had three M&Ms, and now half of the package looks like this. They don’t even taste good anymore. Never buying these again.
#49
Brand New Out Of The Box “Full” Sensodyne Toothpaste. Y’all Know Sensodyne Isn’t Cheap Either
#50
This Gum “Value Pack” Is A Misleading At Best And A Waste Of Packaging At Worst
#51
Snickers Ice Cream Bars Going From 6 In A Box To 5. Same Price. Noticed This At The Grocery Store Today
#52
48 Clicks Before Deodorant Even Begins To Appear. Wasteful And Misleading Packaging Brought To You By Degree
Savannah greenleaf 3 weeks ago
I always pop those apart. There is enough deodorant for at least a week left when it stops dispensing.
#53
From 72 Cookies To 40... And They Have The Audacity To Raise The Price By 50¢!
They removed the price tag for the 12-pack, but there were a couple stuffed in the back of the shelf. Needless to say, I got the bigger one (which still had its older price).
#54
Box For Card Game Says “No Plastic” When The Contents Are Clearly Wrapped In Plastic
#56
Can Someone Please Explain Why This Deceptive Packaging Is Allowed? Is This Not Heavily Regulated?
#57
Deceptive Packaging
Opened the box to find the bag inside was half as big. I get chips filled with nitrogen to keep them from breaking in transit, but this is just ridiculous.
#58
The Deception, Fly By Jing Packaging Design
Look at all this empty space. I definitely should have double-checked, but since when does Costco ever sell one of anything?
#59
Donut Shop Pods Now 80 To A Box Instead Of 100 And Price Increased By $6
I buy coffee pods for my office and immediately noticed the smaller box. Went through some old receipts from the year, in April and May the 100 count box was $46.99 with a $10 instant coupon (Costco) so the final cost came to $36.99, in June the price lowered to $29.97 (no coupon needed/advertised) and when I went last month in September, the 100 pack was no longer offered and the price of the 80 pack was $36.99.
#60
My Quart Of Milk Only Had 3 Cups Of Milk In It
#61
Tic Tacs Contain 94.5% Sugar But Can Legally Advertise As "0 Sugar" Because The Serving Size Is Less Than .5 Grams According To Fda Labeling Rules
#62
This “12 Inch” Pizza I Bought. Two Bacon Bits For Scale. Misleading Packaging At The Very Least
#63
Deceptive Advertising
#64
Deceptive Packaging Sizes
#65
My 5-Year-Old Grabbed This Dangerous Cleaning Stuff As Soon As I Got Back From The Shops With It Because Of The Child Friendly Packaging
#66
Where's My Candy?
Savannah greenleaf 3 weeks ago
The wild dog that tore open that container probably ate the chocolate.
#67
New Hershey's Bottle Just Dropped. Now 34% More Expensive Per Gram
Lady Eowyn 3 weeks ago
One bottle says flavour, one says flavor. The bottle caps are different shapes. Something is very fishy here.
#68
Do You Want A Zero Protein Diet? Look No Further
#69
This Gardening Nutrient Mix That Looks Like Ketchup. It Even Says "Great Flavour"
#70
Kim's Choice Potato Corn Dog, 8 Corn Dogs. The Packaging Is Ginormous Compared To The Real One. Seriously?
#71
Deceptive Packaging: 1kg Coffee And A Tiny Container I Have No Use For
#72
"1 Of 5 A Day"
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What do you think ?
Harlsen Chesterton 3 weeks ago (edited)
The number one concern for all retailers is what they call "customer resistance to high prices". Everything they do is aimed at finding ways to increase the price of their items without losing customers. The ONLY way to combat this as a consumer is to "resist". For example in the UK all major supermarkets have increased the price of certain meats. If a significant number of customers simply refused to buy minced beef (ground beef) for two weeks the prices would go down and stay down. But the supermarket know that while customers will complain they won't act en masse with buying boycotts and they'll keep coming back.
Corvus 3 weeks ago
All of these can be remedied with stricter laws and regulation. And lawsuits. Lots and lots of lawsuits... until they learn their lesson.
UKDeek 3 weeks ago
I guess it is a difficult game for food manufacturers. With costs increasing there are two choices - put up the price of the products and keep the size the same, or reduce the size of the product and keep the price the same. Putting prices up nearly always puts off consumers, so the only real choice is "shrinkflation" sadly
Chris Merillo 3 weeks ago
I don't think people quite get the definition of deceptive. When a company puts less items in a package but it clearly states how many of the product are inside, that is not deception. It's inflation. Either you get less product for the same price, or the same product for more price. Clearly the manufacturers know that a price raise looks worse than taking some product out, but that doesn't make it deception if it is clearly marked.
Olive Moon 3 weeks ago
A lot of these deceptions are justified because the company can say they listed the correct weight. Do we need stricter laws and regulation? Absolutely! My son regularly visits Japan. They have strict laws that require product packaging to accurately reflect the contents, prohibiting any misleading images or representations. Under the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, even minor exaggerations in product photos can lead to legal consequences for companies.I suspect there are many countries that do the same, although I can’t name them. Maybe everyone should start returning these products. The people have so much power, but refuse to use it.
Harlsen Chesterton 3 weeks ago (edited)
The number one concern for all retailers is what they call "customer resistance to high prices". Everything they do is aimed at finding ways to increase the price of their items without losing customers. The ONLY way to combat this as a consumer is to "resist". For example in the UK all major supermarkets have increased the price of certain meats. If a significant number of customers simply refused to buy minced beef (ground beef) for two weeks the prices would go down and stay down. But the supermarket know that while customers will complain they won't act en masse with buying boycotts and they'll keep coming back.
Corvus 3 weeks ago
All of these can be remedied with stricter laws and regulation. And lawsuits. Lots and lots of lawsuits... until they learn their lesson.
UKDeek 3 weeks ago
I guess it is a difficult game for food manufacturers. With costs increasing there are two choices - put up the price of the products and keep the size the same, or reduce the size of the product and keep the price the same. Putting prices up nearly always puts off consumers, so the only real choice is "shrinkflation" sadly
Chris Merillo 3 weeks ago
I don't think people quite get the definition of deceptive. When a company puts less items in a package but it clearly states how many of the product are inside, that is not deception. It's inflation. Either you get less product for the same price, or the same product for more price. Clearly the manufacturers know that a price raise looks worse than taking some product out, but that doesn't make it deception if it is clearly marked.
Olive Moon 3 weeks ago
A lot of these deceptions are justified because the company can say they listed the correct weight. Do we need stricter laws and regulation? Absolutely! My son regularly visits Japan. They have strict laws that require product packaging to accurately reflect the contents, prohibiting any misleading images or representations. Under the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, even minor exaggerations in product photos can lead to legal consequences for companies.I suspect there are many countries that do the same, although I can’t name them. Maybe everyone should start returning these products. The people have so much power, but refuse to use it.
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