It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see.
From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.
In the United States, a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. Chobani Flips yogurts have shrunk from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces. In the UK, Nestle slimmed down its Nescafe Azera Americano coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams.
Two boxes of Kleenex tissues in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 25, 2022. (Dee-Ann Durbin/AP Photo)
Shrinkflation isn’t new. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor, and transportation. Global consumer price inflation was up an estimated 7 percent in May, a pace that will likely continue through September, according to S&P Global….