consumer

Companies disguise product price increases

Carlos Lemos/LA PRENSA

less costs more:Yogurt, milk, cereal, and powdered milk are among the foods suffering most from “shrinkage,” with no commensurate reduction in price.1063103

The next time you go to the supermarket, you might find that your favorite dairy product has been repackaged, and that there's less of it, without a commensurate decrease in cost.

Producers haven't decided to reduce volumes because they're worried about your waistline, sugar levels, or cardiovascular health. They're just trying to reduce expenses, even as yours keep going up. Neither have they stopped using so much plastic to package their products because they're concerned about the release of toxic pollutants in the environment, an inevitable byproduct of the plastics industry. Rather, it costs too much these days,

Yogurt, milk, cereal, and powdered milk are among the foods suffering most from product “shrinkage” these days, according to various experts consulted about the phenomena.

Frank Tedman, the operations manager for Industrias Lácteas, acknowledged that a container of Vita Slim yogurt that used to weigh 180 grams now weighs only 150. He says the change comes in response to a 63 percent increase in the cost of the product's plastic packaging. But the company has introduced “probiotics” in its entire line, he added, which aids the absorption of nutrients.

Bonlac has changed the packaging of its yogurt, too, reducing its total weight from 200 grams to 180. That's the filling capacity of their new machinery, which besides eliminates the expense of paying a human being to do the job.

Nestlé admits it changed the packaging of its Ideal brand of evaporated milk in response to cost increases, too, but the company really wants you to believe it's for your own good. A company spokesperson said Nestle decided to slightly reduce the contents of the product so you could continue to afford it!

Not all companies are so altruistic. Nido, for example, has reduced the volume of its cartons of milk by 300 grams, spruced up the packaging, and raised the price.

Edilma López, head of the department of Metrología de la Autoridad de Protección al Consumidor, said “[t]here are definitely companies that have reduced quantities and maintained the same price, which is a disguised price increase.”