‘Sad, thin dough-rings’: Coles doughnuts dismay shopper

A trip to their local Coles supermarket was a baffling experience for one shopper, who was left scratching their head after discovering a surprise in the bakery section.

The customer was on the hunt for a sweet treat and had their eyes set on a six-pack of iced doughnuts.

However, their craving quickly turned into disappointment when they noticed the 'sad' state of the doughnuts inside the box.



The Coles Iced Donuts ($3.80), which had pink, yellow, and chocolate icing, were noticeably thinner than usual, with larger than normal holes in the middle.

The customer took to social media to share their dismay, stating, 'The audacity of these doughnuts. I was considering getting some doughnuts today but changed my mind after seeing these sad, thin dough-rings.'


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A Coles shopper was dismayed by the size of the Coles doughnuts they bought. Credit: Coles and u/MyNameJoby / Reddit


The post quickly gained traction, with many users finding humour in the botched batch of baked goods.

Some even shared their best doughnut puns, with one user asking, 'We sure they haven't glazed some onion rings by mistake?'

Another suggested a new name for the thin treats: 'Noghnuts’.

However, the incident also sparked a serious discussion about 'shrinkflation,' a term used to describe the practice of businesses reducing the size or weight of their products while keeping the price the same.

Some users accused Coles of intentionally shrinking the doughnuts as a cost-saving measure.

'I can't even imagine how marginal the savings on this would be,' one user commented, while another added, 'Marginal in isolation but do it on 100 products and add them all up.'



Despite these accusations, others quickly pointed out that the likely cause was a baking error.

A Coles employee said, 'It's either bad bakers on that day or a bad batch...I literally have some sitting on the kitchen bench right now, and they are the same size they've always been.'

Another user joked, 'I think the work experience kid must have been in the bakery that day.'

'Probably just the new kid who doesn't know how to make them…can't believe they actually put these out on the shelf, though. I bought some yesterday, and they were as plump as ever,' another user wrote.



Pastry mishaps like this have become common in supermarkets.

In a previous story, Woolworths shoppers speculated that the supermarket’s well-loved mud cake had fallen victim to ‘shrinkflation’ when they noticed two different versions of the product listed online.

However, a Woolworths insider shed light on the situation regarding the weight difference of the mud cakes. You can read more about this story here.
Key Takeaways
  • A Coles shopper was taken aback by the appearance of unusually thin iced doughnuts for sale in the bakery section.
  • Customers on social media reacted with humour and disdain, coining terms like 'Noghnuts' and questioning if there had been a baking mistake.
  • Some speculated the smaller doughnuts were an instance of 'shrinkflation,' a phenomenon where product sizes decrease while prices stay the same.
  • Others suggested the thin doughnuts were due to a baking error, with one Coles employee attributing it to potential inexperience. Coles has been contacted for a statement.
Have you noticed any instances of 'shrinkflation' in your local supermarket? Let us know in the comments below!
 
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I would agree that it is the person making them. I also wonder how on earth they dismal looking things were allowed to be put out on display. Coles obviously doesn’t care about their image.
I like the rock cakes but won’t buy from some stores as the person baking them doesn’t leave them in long enough and they are very doughy, pale and sometimes not cooked inside.
Coles need to have quality checkers before an item is put on the shelf.
 
I've noticed how bad these look for maybe a year now. They look smaller, the icing is always very messy and the whole package is a huge turn off.
The last time I grabbed a packet they actually don't even taste like a donut
 
That's why you see the big e beside all the weights now, it's just an estimate. I'd bet money that none of their products are OVER the estimate. Another sneaky way of reducing the size while the price remains the same. Would be interesting to see if CHOICE could do some testing on advertised weights.
 
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Who eats doughnuts anyway?

Good to see that they weren't called DONUTS. Doughnuts are named such since they are made of dough.

So what are donuts made of? Doggy do?
This will give you some ammunition against Americans @Veggiepatch:

Donut is an alternate spelling of doughnut. Some dictionaries point out that donut is rarely used outside the United States. All of them recognize doughnut as the main spelling, as do some of the more popular style guides. Doughnut might be the spelling you should use if you want to be sure you’re not making a mistake.
(www.grammarly.com)
 
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This will give you some ammunition against Americans @Veggiepatch:

Donut is an alternate spelling of doughnut. Some dictionaries point out that donut is rarely used outside the United States. All of them recognize doughnut as the main spelling, as do some of the more popular style guides. Doughnut might be the spelling you should use if you want to be sure you’re not making a mistake.
(www.grammarly.com)
Funny how the word "recognise" is used with a "Z"....
 
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I realised several years ago, Oxo cubes are not square any more, they have a furrow in the middle of each side. Perhaps not much, but multiply that by millions of cubes, and it's saving the manufacturers money. Sneaky. I don't buy Oxo any more.
 
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I guess that Coles are now in the business of selling "HOLES" in the bakeries section.... I wonder who they employed as the hole maker ...
 
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