The Big Squeeze

It seems like the consumer products that aren’t loaded with sugar or corn syrup are getting smaller and while the products loaded with corn syrup are being supersized here in the USA. I’m having a little trouble making the financial sense of it all. In the last week or so (Aug. 01, 2009) I went to my local grocery store to pick up some regular items and one of the things I needed was Frenchs Mustard. I like it because it is a condiment alternative to ketchup and it tastes good.

Low and behold I purchase the “new and improved” Frenchs mustard and I come home to realize (compare the old and the new) that the Frenchs plastic bottle shrank by 6 ounces from 20 oz. to 14 oz. We are talking more than 25% shrinkage. The price did drop however from $2.19 to $1.89. But I have seen the same thing with Columbo Yogurt and even did a post about Columbo Yogurt here on my blog shrinking from 8 oz. to 6 oz. another 25% shrinkage.

My bet is that the price of this product will creep back up to $2.19 and the size will be a puny 14 oz. bottle of French’s Mustard, meanwhile the “size” has been reduced significantly, but I do bet one thing will go up….French’s profits. Do you think this is a deceptive practice or is this just plain old capitalism at work here?

And today I found another one, take a look at the “new Old Spice.” What is interesting with all of these products is they are not “new sizes” per say because I could not find the old sizes available while I was in the store, they are “new reduced sizes.” Maybe the consumers won’t notice? Old Spice reduction went from 3.5 ounces of deodorant to 2.5 ounces. Kind of significant?