Question Of The Day, Sunday, March 18, 2018

[micknsnicks2mom]

I haven't noticed much of that happening here, but some family size packages have higher price per weight than smaller packages, so it is more economical to get many small packages, which is not so ecological because of many wrappings etc.

What bothers me is that when product I'm using disappears completely, stores here tend to swap products so that often I can't find what I want anymore.

That is not so big issue now, but when I was limited to only small grocery store, it did go so far that in a year I had to change diet several times.

New and improved annoys too, perfectly good product often ruined. How come some products manage just fine even they have been made with same recipe from 1800's and some they change every few years and usually to worse?

There really is more than 50% unneeded products at grocery stores from my point of view, surely they could have space to keep old good products available and not changing line ups constantly, that has been most annoying to me though.

shrinking packages doesn't seem to be happening where you live!!! most excellent!!

yes, i've noticed that here too -- that some family size packages have a higher price per weight than the smaller packages. i'm not sure what the companies are thinking with that. i do the same as you do, buy several of the smaller packages.

i suspect that 'new and improved' means the company found a way to cut costs, like cheaper ingredients or such -- along with shrinking the package and/or price increase. and i agree that many products have been ruined this way!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Sometimes the package is still the same size but holds less food. Like plastic jars. It might seem normal size but the indentation at the bottom of the jar might be bigger so there's less food in the jar than before.

Cartons of juice used to be 64 oz but it's less now.

you notice the shrunk packages as well as other ways companies are changing packages to hold less product!!! great!!

yes, another sneaky, underhanded thing many companies are doing now! i've seen bags of pretzels in one store i go to, that used to be 12 or 16 ounce bags, and that were shrunk to 10 ounces......but the bag itself remained the same size. i mean, i could see through the clear part of the bag that the pretzels were a very small portion in that bag. the price for that 10 ounce shrunk bag of pretzels was $1.79, while at the other store their bags of pretzels remained 16 ounces and priced at $1.49.

i've noticed that about juice too! these days i'll only buy the large bottles of apple juice, which is the lowest priced juice i've found. and i buy tang, canisters by the case from amazon's subscribe and save -- very good price for that, too.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I notice and it really bothers me. I wouldn't mind so much if they left the size of container the same but just raised the price. But by shrinking the package, I'll look to another brand.

you notice the shrinking packages, and it really bothers you!!! i can identify with that!!

yes, exactly! i find that the companies have shrunk the packages...actually offensive.

 

[cassiopea]

I am not a fan of it either - I'd rather pay more for the extra stuff that was already there than paying more for the air

 

[mac n tosh]

I find it both frustrating and annoying. For me it's the Mallomars!! The package got smaller, the cookies got smaller, there's fewer in the box and the price doubled. It's a seasonal cookie. You can only get them in the wintertime in New York (Idk about anywhere else) because they melt on the trucks in the spring and summer. They go on sale in October and March!! I wait...

 

[jtbo]

Do you get this big packages that has little stuff inside, like cereals are like this, lots of air:

We get lot of talks about climate and all that, but if amount of empty space in packages would be reduced to minimum, they could transport a lot more packages.

I think manufacturers should do their part and reduce package sizes so that there is no extra space in packages.

I get groceries with bicycle and fitting groceries to backpack might have more to do with this annoyance, but let's not tell about that to anyone.

Candy bags for example, those can have 50% empty space in them. Candy that you bag yourself, those bags hold easily 8 pounds of candy, which is ridiculous, nobody is going to buy that much, I hope?

We have directive about how curved cucumber can be to be allowed to be sold (EU has some odd directives), but I don't know there is a directive about empty space in packages, which would have direct effect on fuel consumption, required store areas (which affects energy consumption of heating).

One strategy manufacturers and shops do is to make it difficult to compare, they use odd weights and hard to divide numbers on purpose, then package size is made to be close to what competitor has or even bigger, when in reality you get less and pay more even price is on purpose made to be bit less than competitor's price.

 

[Willowy]

Some things, like chips (crisps?) need a lot of air or they get squished. And I don't want to eat chip dust . But other things, yeah, no reason for it. I opened a new thing of powder, and it's less than half full. I'm pretty sure talc is not exactly fragile :/.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I've noticed it with Chips Ahoy cookies. The package is the same size, but the cookies themselves are smaller! That made me mad!(and tasted gross too. Another peeve is when they chance the recipes and don't tell anyone)

you've noticed that Chips Ahoy cookies have had the cookies shrink, and they no longer taste good!!! and you're angry about that! that's just downright rude of them, to both shrink and ruin the cookies!! ahhh, but they left the package size the same.

yes, as jtbo said, why change something that's just perfect the way it was.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I guess I haven't noticed that. Although, I have noticed candy bar and snack chip bags increase in size which I find quite worrisome (oh, society ...would it kill a convenience store to sell a veggie or two?). Although I guess I also get fed up with what @LTS3 mentioned about the deceptive packaging. I mean, besides being super rude (constantly trying to trick and "outsmart" consumers), it's also not very environmentally friendly (wasted plastic, cardboard, and gas to transport because if they made the packages fit the product they'd be able to transport more for less).

I noticed you mentioned Aldi's micknsnicks2mom . Does it bug you they charge for the carts?

you haven't noticed the shrinking packages, though you have noticed that candy bar and snack chip bags have increased in size!!! and you get annoyed with the deceptive packaging! awesome!!

i had not noticed that about candy bar and snack chip bags sizes. but then, i don't buy candy (only if i'm using it to bake with, like caramels occasionally), or snack-sized portion chip bags.

that's a very good point! that those 'extra roomy' packages aren't environmentally friendly. and i'm sure the higher cost for transporting them is passed on to consumers too.

i'm used to keeping a quarter with me, for when i shop at Aldi's, and i get my quarter back when i return the cart.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

You get your quarter back when you put the cart back in the right place. Or at least that's how they do it here.

I agree; I'd rather have them keep the size the same and raise the price. It's annoying when you buy a certain kind of juice, partly because you like it, but also partly because it comes in a half-gallon jug that you use to fill the dog water dish. And suddenly your juice jug doesn't completely fill the dog dish. . .hmm, what, now it's 54 ounces instead?!? Nope.

that's how it's done at the Aldi's here too!

you've noticed, and it's annoying!!! excellent!!

yes, changing the package sizes of products can really mess things up for consumers! like the half-gallon juice bottle, that you used to fill your dog's water dish, that has shrunk to 54 ounces.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

It irritates me, too. The biggest problem is that the new sizes won't work in treasured recipes. I have a yummy recipe for tuna casserole that calls for a 7-oz can of tuna. Since when has a can of tuna come in a 7-oz can? They are all 5 oz now. I've used part of a large can, but it's just not the same. I used to buy a 1-lb bar of chocolate to put on a toffee bar cookie, but when my DIL asked for the recipe, I didn't know what to tell her. I think that huge bar is now down to 8 oz. The recipe originally called for four 6-oz chocolate bars. That's 24 oz!

I didn't know about the cake mixes, so I'm glad to get the heads up. Making them from scratch isn't that hard, so I'll stick to that.

Have you noticed that the 1-lb cans of veggies and sauces are now 14-oz?

you've noticed the shrinking of packages, and it irritates you!!! that's understandable!!

yes! there are some (really very good) recipes that have been around for a while, and it's really a pain to try to work with shrunk sized packages of ingredients to make them!

and...the bags of onions...used to be 3 pounds per bag, and now they're 2 pound bags. i did see 10 pound bags of onions at wegmans the last time i was there. i didn't look very closely at them, or the price.

and from scratch cakes taste so much better than the boxes cake mixes!

oh my!! i haven't noticed the cans of veggies and sauces shrinking, yet.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I guess that its just that there are other things within my control to be bothered about. Letting the stuff i cant control like this wind me up would be pointless for my well being. I'm not gonna switch brands,i like what i like. I'm not gonna switch to a cheaper product,because i have usually found them to be inferior IMO. Have I complained to a manufacturer about receiving bad product,yes I have. And I have complained to a manager at a grocery store/restaurant etc for bad service. So I do understand you guys frustrations with shrinking packaging and pricing.

exactly! and that's why i simply make adjustments and move forward these days.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Can you get shopping cart tokens there? I live in Germany, and all the supermarkets have that type of cart. I have a keychain with a chip you can pop in and out, but you can also get little plastic tokens for a few cents or for free at several stores. Etsy or ebay might have them.

Smaller packages at the old price have become the norm here, too. I'd rather pay a bit more for the old weight.

you've noticed, and would prefer to pay a bit more for the old weight of items!!! very nice!!

i've never seen shopping cart tokens used/available here in the US. but then, it's only Aldi's that requires the quarter to get a shopping cart (and you get the quarter back, when the cart is returned) in my area.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I am not a fan of it either - I'd rather pay more for the extra stuff that was already there than paying more for the air

you've noticed the shrinking packages, and aren't a fan of it !!! great!!

you'd rather have the price increase, and the package size remain the same! i agree!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I find it both frustrating and annoying. For me it's the Mallomars!! The package got smaller, the cookies got smaller, there's fewer in the box and the price doubled. It's a seasonal cookie. You can only get them in the wintertime in New York (Idk about anywhere else) because they melt on the trucks in the spring and summer. They go on sale in October and March!! I wait...

you've noticed, and you find it frustrating and annoying!!! yup, it's just rude!!

oh no! both the package and the cookies got smaller, and the price doubled for the Mallomars!!

i did a little looking around online, and found these recipes for 'copycat' Mallomars --

Homemade Copycat Milano and Mallomar Cookies!

Homemade Mallomars - Food Fanatic

the first link is to a recipe that's more involved, but WOW! those mallomars look delicious! the second link is to an easier version, that still looks pretty darn good! so, if you wanted to, you could try making mallomars at home...

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Do you get this big packages that has little stuff inside, like cereals are like this, lots of air:
View attachment 223388

We get lot of talks about climate and all that, but if amount of empty space in packages would be reduced to minimum, they could transport a lot more packages.

I think manufacturers should do their part and reduce package sizes so that there is no extra space in packages.

I get groceries with bicycle and fitting groceries to backpack might have more to do with this annoyance, but let's not tell about that to anyone.

Candy bags for example, those can have 50% empty space in them. Candy that you bag yourself, those bags hold easily 8 pounds of candy, which is ridiculous, nobody is going to buy that much, I hope?

We have directive about how curved cucumber can be to be allowed to be sold (EU has some odd directives), but I don't know there is a directive about empty space in packages, which would have direct effect on fuel consumption, required store areas (which affects energy consumption of heating).

One strategy manufacturers and shops do is to make it difficult to compare, they use odd weights and hard to divide numbers on purpose, then package size is made to be close to what competitor has or even bigger, when in reality you get less and pay more even price is on purpose made to be bit less than competitor's price.

yes!! we get packages that have part stuff inside, and the rest is air sealed into the packages! that's another sneaky and underhanded way companies have to sell less product for the same (or higher) price.

i agree, that manufacturers seem to make it hard to compare products. i actually do a lot of calculating/math while i'm grocery shopping.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Some things, like chips (crisps?) need a lot of air or they get squished. And I don't want to eat chip dust . But other things, yeah, no reason for it. I opened a new thing of powder, and it's less than half full. I'm pretty sure talc is not exactly fragile :/.

*makes note to (my-)self: always check the weight on products.*

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

and, @Draco -- i found a 'copycat' chips ahoy cookies recipe, should you want to try making some at home --

Copycat Chips Ahoy Cookies By Todd Wilbur Recipe - Genius Kitchen

...and the recipe looks pretty easy to make too!

 

[Willowy]

*makes note to (my-)self: always check the weight on products.*

Oh I'm sure I got the amount of product equal to the weight printed on the package. They could get in trouble for falsifying that. But they put it in a bigger container. . .for psychological reasons? I guess.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Oh I'm sure I got the amount of product equal to the weight printed on the package. They could get in trouble for falsifying that. But they put it in a bigger container. . .for psychological reasons? I guess.

oh, no...i meant that maybe the talc package size remained the same, but the weight of the talc inside the container had shrunk...yes, possibly because consumers might very well see the same size container it had been sold in, and not notice that the amount/weight of the talc had been reduced. so sneaky, these companies......