I've written about this before. But, since new stories keep emerging, I'll keep writing.
Food companies are shrinking packages as a way of increasing prices without actually increasing prices. They say they're holding the line on price increases, but since you're getting less, the price per ounce is going up - often by quite a bit.
Among the problems with this are the increase in packaging per same amount of food, increasing the cost of freight, etc. Personally, I think each food item has an ideal size, and that's what it should remain at. What happens after they can't shrink anymore? "New larger size!" they're sure to boast. What they'll omit is that it's the same size they sold you five or ten years ago, but now the price is two or three times as much.
From The Consumerist:
Myron Reducto is at it again, turning his Grocery Shrink Ray Gun on Odwalla juice, zapping it down to 12 oz from 15. The price is the same. Like other food packagers, Odwalla is combining the shrinkage with a packaging redesign that it hopes will get more press. In this case, they are simultaneously rolling out bottles that are made from 100% plant based HDPE plastic.
