Chocolate bars are getting smaller, yet prices are staying the same.
81 replies, posted
[quote]At first we wondered whether Mars Bars were getting smaller - or was it just that we were getting bigger.
Then it became a matter of fact: consumer studies showed the falling weight of chocolate bars over the years.
'But that is inflation by the back door,' the cry went up, 'the real inflation rate should be higher.' Not so, it turns out: the Office for National Statistics takes into account shrinking product sizes in its monthly survey of prices.
The incredible shrinking bar: Cadbury reduced the size of Dairy Milk while keeping the price the same
Rising food prices were a major factor in the sharp spike in October inflation to 2.7 per cent reported today.
But the ONS also said consumers were getting less for their money after a number of confectionery products reduced in size.
This is treated as a price rise by statisticians, even though the price has stayed the same.
Sweets giant Cadbury recently decreased the weight of its Dairy Milk chocolate bar from 49g to 45g while continuing to charge 59p. It relaunched the bar in a new curved shape and said the decision to reduce the size had been taken in the wake of rising fuel and cocoa prices.
A 205g bag of Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles Sharing Bag has melted away to [B]170g, a 175g[/B] Smarties bag is now 147g and Nestle's Munchies Pouch will leave you that little bit less satisfied, dropping from [B]150g to 126g.[/B]
[B]The shrinkage has been attributed to the rising cost of production and seems to have centred on family pack sizes, which are easier to alter than the single bars.[/B]
For example a bag of Munchies was on sale a year ago at £1.67 for the larger size but a smaller version is now on sale at various supermarkets for between £1.59 and £1.67.
A spokesman for consumer magazine Which? said shrinking products could be an underhand way of inflating prices and called for pricing to be clearer and the food companies to make any changes obvious to their customers.
But it was not just those with a sweet tooth that saw their food costs become more expensive.
The price of potatoes was up ahead of Christmas after the unseasonably wet summer saw yields of old, new and baking potatoes fall, with one survey showing the October price of a bag of Maris Piper potatoes had doubled from £1 to £2 year on year.
Meanwhile, carrot harvests have also been adversely affected by the prolonged period of rain.
The ONS also said that there had been price increases on a number of other everyday goods including fruit, meat, milk, cheese and eggs.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said food prices could well rise higher still, largely due to recent poor grain harvests, which would weigh down on consumer purchasing power.
Rob Harbron, economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, also said global food prices were expected to rise further in the coming months.
Read more: [url]http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2232345/Its-official-shrinking-chocolate-bars-ARE-factor-rising-inflation.html#ixzz2CMH6NwJS[/url]
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This seems generally the case of all processed foods. I remember getting much more Chips/Crisps from a bag of Nachos in 2000 than I am now in 2012 for the exact same price at a local corner store.
I thought this was a generally well know (but disappointing) fact already?
Good.
People wonder why health issues are so common too.
Hopefully bananas and shit go on surplus and the sales of those skyrocket. Chocolate is nice but the better energy boost received from fruit is far more satisfying.
that being said if coffee is affected I'm going to kill everyone in FP and steal their coffee.
EDIT:
216 dumbs in a half day, I have achieved antigod status
TBH I don't mind. It makes it easier not to go overboard with calories.
[QUOTE=J!NX;38470596]Good.
People wonder why health issues are so common too.
Hopefully bananas and shit go on surplus and the sales of those skyrocket. Chocolate is nice but the better energy boost received from fruit is far more satisfying.
that being said if coffee is affected I'm going to kill everyone in FP and steal their coffee.[/QUOTE]
because chocolate is the reason why we are fat
[QUOTE=Death_God;38470609]because chocolate is the reason why we are fat[/QUOTE]
umm no but chocolate and junk food sure as shit isn't helping.
7g of fat a bar... replace that with a banana, yeah, that's going to help get people thinner.
less people eat less fatty foods guess what happens
less fat people
1+1
I haven't really noticed. Also, I wish they had more Cadbury here in the US. They only seem to come during easter.
Ron Paul was right
[QUOTE=J!NX;38470613]umm no but chocolate and junk food sure as shit isn't helping.
7g of fat a bar... replace that with a banana, yeah, that's going to help get people thinner. This is some seriously obvious common sense that if people are less encouraged to eat less fatty foods, they'll have less health issues.[/QUOTE]I find it funny how people like you assume you have to eat only fruits and veggies to get thing. You can eat the foods you like as long as its in moderation so you can manage your calorie intake.
I hate how they call little bars 'fun size'
There is nothing fucking fun about that
Give me one the size of a fucking tree trunk and I'll have me some fun
[QUOTE=DinoJesus;38470660]I find it funny how people like you assume you have to eat only fruits and veggies to get thing. You can eat the foods you like as long as its in moderation so you can manage your calorie intake.[/QUOTE]
that's not what I'm saying exactly, but I know as a fact that healthier foods will lead to healthier lives. A candy bar could be equal to 50 carrots in calories after all, and 50 carrots would take more space. So if you ate the same amount of weight in carrots you're getting a better meal.
Chocolate is helping us be fat, is all. it certainly isn't healthy. Balancing calories with better food is [I]far [/I]easier to do than fatter foods.
[QUOTE=J!NX;38470678]that's not what I'm saying exactly, but I know as a fact that healthier foods will lead to healthier lives. A candy bar could be equal to 50 carrots in calories after all, and 50 carrots would take more space.
Chocolate is helping us be fat, is all. it certainly isn't healthy.[/QUOTE]
Can you please take your hippie commie faggot foods somewhere else please?
[QUOTE=BenJammin';38470703]Can you please take your hippie commie faggot foods somewhere else please?[/QUOTE]
I'll stick a banana in ur bum.
and then I'll squeeze it until it becomes mushy and icky
I thought this was common knowledge? My dad has been complaining about this effect in foods longer than I have been alive, he said it was most noticeable with yogurt.
[QUOTE=J!NX;38470678]that's not what I'm saying exactly, but I know as a fact that healthier foods will lead to healthier lives. A candy bar could be equal to 50 carrots in calories after all, and 50 carrots would take more space. So if you ate the same amount of weight in carrots you're getting a better meal.
Chocolate is helping us be fat, is all. it certainly isn't healthy. Balancing calories with better food is [I]far [/I]easier to do than fatter foods.[/QUOTE]
Dude, it's called choices. If your parents have not taught you that eating candy all the time makes you fat, then your parents have failed you. End of discussion.
I only really get a chocolate bar around my birthday. For the rest of the year I'm pretty much candy free. They're decreasing the size of my birthday. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/dKSmK.gif[/IMG]
Yeah this has been the case for a long time, it's known as increasing profit margins by fucking over consumers. Anyone also notice bags of chips of the same size and price are more empty and filled with air over time?
Blame inflation
Well this kid must have a fortune
[img]http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ds-photo/getty/article/41/139/89792516_XS.jpg[/img]
The exception to the trend is Lays who have bags with 90% air, 5% crumbs and 5% actual potato chips.
[QUOTE=zakedodead;38470816]Yeah this has been the case for a long time, it's known as increasing profit margins by fucking over consumers. Anyone also notice bags of chips of the same size and price are more empty and filled with air over time?[/QUOTE]
Yeah. I posted that in the OP.
There was this corner store I would go to while I was 6 with my mother to get chips if I was a good boy.
About a month ago I went to that same corner store and bought the same brand of chips for about $2 and it had way less chips than I remembered.
Let's buy more fruits. Eat more fruit and veggies. At least nature isn't fucking stingy. You don't see Banana trees producing smaller bananas due to rising cost or Apple trees producing micro apples due to inflation.
[QUOTE=BCell;38470877]Let's buy more fruits. Eat more fruit and veggies. At least nature isn't fucking stingy. You don't see Banana trees producing smaller bananas due to rising cost or Apple trees producing micro apples due to inflation.[/QUOTE]
They're getting bigger actually because of crazy science shit in them.
Suppliers know that if people are used to paying $1 for a candy bar, they'll lose sales by raising the price to $1.10. So what they do is reduce the amount you get but charge the same price. Psychologically people still accept it as a $1 candy bar and will buy it. Same for other products.
Yes, this means people buy according to price, not value.
[QUOTE=BCell;38470877]You don't see Apple trees producing micro apples due to inflation.[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2012/10/ipad_mini_ipad_4.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=J!NX;38470678]that's not what I'm saying exactly, but I know as a fact that healthier foods will lead to healthier lives. A candy bar could be equal to 50 carrots in calories after all, and 50 carrots would take more space. So if you ate the same amount of weight in carrots you're getting a better meal.
Chocolate is helping us be fat, is all. it certainly isn't healthy. Balancing calories with better food is [I]far [/I]easier to do than fatter foods.[/QUOTE]
Smaller candy bars =/= more fruits and veg
[QUOTE=KG_1;38470799]Dude, it's called choices. If your parents have not taught you that eating candy all the time makes you fat, then your parents have failed you. End of discussion.[/QUOTE]
Dude, it's called cause and effect. If more people get less candy to eat all the time to begin with, then less issues as a result. End of discussion.
[QUOTE=Apache249;38470971]Smaller candy bars =/= more fruits and veg[/QUOTE]
maybe so, but it helps with less fat/calories per bar
I eat fruit everyday and I'm still not cool with chocolate getting more expensive, shut up people
If they outlawed or taxed chocolate for being unhealthy you'd cry nanny state and shit
I knew it! I knew it wasn't just me!
Chocolate is one of those things like chips where you can't have a small portion of it, you need at least a decent amount to be satisfied.
And as a fatass this news, while already known, irritates me.
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