Shrinkflation

I came face to face with “Shrinkflation” in the supermarket. In Portugal and Spain they have a sausage whose name translated into English is “sausage.” Linguiça and Longaniza respectively. It’s quite an ordinary sausage, cured it’s a tasty snack:

“Embutido fresco o curado, parecido a una salchicha, hecho con carne de cerdo picada y adobada que se consume frito o asado cuando es fresco o crudo cuando está curado; es un embutido del que existen diversas variedades según el tipo y cantidad de ingredientes que se utilizan en su elaboración.” – Google translate

Next to the traditional linguiça at 1.35€ there is a “special” linguiça also at 1.35€. Strange, never seen it before. The traditional is 200 grams while the special is 150 grams! 25% less content. You got to wonder what’s special about an ordinary sausage. The Frugal Captain went for the traditional. Later the Weight Conscious Captain wondered if the special would help with weight loss.

Back to economics! 25% less content is not 25% inflation! It’s 33.3% inflation!

25% Shrinkflation is 33.3% INflation!

The Captain

BTW, the coffee went from 0.65€ to 0.70€, just 7.7% inflation.

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Back to economics! 25% less content is not 25% inflation! It’s 33.3% inflation!

Food packaging has been shrinking in Shinyland for years. A half gallon of ice cream is now only 1.5 quarts. A bag of Doritos that used to be 16oz is now 12. A cup of yogurt that used to be 8oz is now 5oz, or less.

You’re not imagining it – package sizes are shrinking

https://www.ocregister.com/2022/06/09/youre-not-imagining-it…

It follows that, at some point, we will be paying more for the packaging than the contents.

Steve

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John Oliver’s look at inflation is well worth the time. PeregrineTrader posted this on the Destiny Solutions board.

WARNING: adult language is in the video.

https://youtu.be/MBo4GViDxzc

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You’re not imagining it – package sizes are shrinking

… and it really peesses me off. How many hand-me-down and other “traditional” type recipes call for “one bag of…” or “one tub of…?” Cookies are a prime example. Chocolate chips used to come in 1-pound bags. Now they’re 12oz. Same for chopped nuts. How many people are just plowing ahead with the original instructions, thinking to themselves “This just isn’t as good as I remember,” because they really aren’t?

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It follows that, at some point, we will be paying more for the packaging than the contents.

That’s the fate of the poor who cannot afford the new giant economy sizes likely to appear in time… eat more, get diabetes II soonest!

The Captain

WARNING: adult language is in the video.

That’s probably why it is unavailable in Canada, we Canucks only enjoy the cleaned up version … NOT!

we Canucks only enjoy the cleaned up version … NOT!

Well, I suppose that does explain Terrance and Phillip ;p

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“Food packaging has been shrinking in Shinyland for years. A half gallon of ice cream is now only 1.5 quarts. A bag of Doritos that used to be 16oz is now 12. A cup of yogurt that used to be 8oz is now 5oz, or less.”

At some point, more and more people will just stop buying some of that junk.
Take candy bars, for instance, the price has more than doubled in my area in the last
year or so. I used to buy them when they were 2 for a buck, and use them for energy when
working out. I looked yesterday, and they were $1.29 per bar. I don’t think I’ve bought a
candy bar in 2022. I know it’s junk food, but I actually wanted the calories. It’s real easy
to pack half a pbj sandwich cut into quarters and carry that on the trails or roads, it’s calorie
dense too, no need to pay for overpriced candy bars.

American businesses better be careful, if their business practices encourage enough people to
find alternatives, then they will lose customers for good. And as far as food goes, there is
most always an alternative. Went out to eat twice over the weekend. Took about
an hour from the time we sat down till the food was on the table. They obviously need more
help in the kitchen, but it’s not out there, at least at the wage they want to pay. Could
have made a much better meal at home for less money, but everybody wanted to eat out, so no
problem with going with the flow. We tipped good too, it’s not the workers fault that they’re
short staffed, but it was not a great or even good experience.

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Shrinkage.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570479477773478721/

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BTW, the coffee went from 0.65€ to 0.70€, just 7.7% inflation.

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Is that Before or After adjusting for the Almighty Dollar?

Is that Before or After adjusting for the Almighty Dollar?

I’m not sure I understand the question, the price went from fewer euros to more euros.

BTW, the coffee went from 0.65€ to 0.70€, just 7.7% inflation.

It happened between my last and next to last visit to the Continente supermarket. The server was very sweet about it. Having a coffee between walking and shopping is a nice rest period.

Somehow Almighty Dollar was absent. :frowning:

But yesterday was a great Almighty Dollar day! Port up 8.5% in Almighty Dollars! A day like yesterday makes all the anguish of bear markets and crazy volatility worth while. As of yesterday my port is beating the DJIA, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ indexes YTD. Down only 11.2%.

Best of all for Climate Critters, the port is built mostly on renewable energy, EVs and micro inverters. What everyone is promoting, subsidizing, and incentivizing must be an investing sweet-spot. So far so good!

BTW2, METaR is suffering from post inflation! Thanks to TMF it also has the tools to combat the pandemic.

The Captain

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Well, I suppose that does explain Terrance and Phillip

https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Terrance_and_Phillip

. . . explain Terrance and Phillip

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Thanx for the explanation. It provides MAGNITUDES more info about SouthPark than I ever wanna know!

sunrayman
never a phan
ditto for most animated prime time offerings

… and it really peesses me off. How many hand-me-down and other “traditional” type recipes call for “one bag of…” or “one tub of…?” Cookies are a prime example. Chocolate chips used to come in 1-pound bags. Now they’re 12oz. Same for chopped nuts. How many people are just plowing ahead with the original instructions, thinking to themselves “This just isn’t as good as I remember,” because they really aren’t?

One of the most famous cases of this is a traditional recipe for tuna croquettes. First line of the recipe is “2 cans of tuna”. Well, that used to be 14 ounces of tuna. Today, that is 10 ounces of tuna. The recipe doesn’t work well at all anymore.

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Cookies are a prime example.

One of the most famous cases of this is a traditional recipe for tuna croquettes

Gimme the cookies please!
'38Packard

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The recipe doesn’t work well at all anymore.

Well, if you re-write and future proof the recipe, it would call for 3 5-ounce cans of tuna. Or perhaps just 14 ounces of canned tuna. Or 14 ounces of tuna - canned or freshly cooked.

I’ve been doing this for years trying to cook my mother-in-law’s recipes for many things my wife liked as a child. My MIL died 25 or so years ago, and my wife got many of her recipes. Most of those recipes dated from the 50s and 60s. So lots of updating needed.

It’s just a matter of keeping in mind that many of these recipes are old. So cook them with an eye to which of the rather unspecific ingredient sizes may have changed over the years.

If your tuna croquettes are lacking in tuna, add more tuna. Yes, they might not come out right the first time, but it’s not hard to fix the recipe rather than throwing it out as a bad recipe.

–Peter