Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Product shrinkage...For the same (+) price!!

Baraka_Guru · 02-24-2009, 08:22 AM

Yeah, this isn't anything new.

One food product to look at is chocolate:

You see how prices spiked pretty quickly after the '70s.

Also note the changes in Hershey Bar prices/sizes here:
The Food Timeline--historic food prices

Since the era of packaging, food marketers have had the challenge of balancing prices with portions. The thing to realize is that companies such as Hershey have the external pressure of global trade. Cocoa and sugar prices are beyond their control, so they manage it with things they can control: product size and price.

The same goes for potato chips and tuna, and anything else, really. When people are used to paying a certain price for some things (such as candy bars, bags of potato chips, and cans of tuna) it's really difficult to increase the price without some kind of backlash, especially when you have competitors. So what to do to remain profitable?

Reducing portions is easier to get away with than increasing prices.

02-24-2009, 08:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Yeah, this isn't anything new. One food product to look at is chocolate: You see how prices spiked pretty quickly after the '70s. Also note the changes in Hershey Bar prices/sizes here: The Food Timeline--historic food prices Since the era of packaging, food marketers have had the challenge of balancing prices with portions. The thing to realize is that companies such as Hershey have the external pressure of global trade. Cocoa and sugar prices are beyond their control, so they manage it with things they can control: product size and price. The same goes for potato chips and tuna, and anything else, really. When people are used to paying a certain price for some things (such as candy bars, bags of potato chips, and cans of tuna) it's really difficult to increase the price without some kind of backlash, especially when you have competitors. So what to do to remain profitable? Reducing portions is easier to get away with than increasing prices. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 02-24-2009 at 08:31 AM..