Shrinkflation alert! Social media users slam Arnott's for smaller biscuit sizes: "Now the size of a 50 cent piece"
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Arnott's, one of Australia's most iconic biscuit brands, has come under fire from social media users for reducing the size of its famous Kingstons biscuits.
The new, smaller biscuits have been dubbed "the size of a 50 cent piece", and users are not happy.
"When will the madness end?" one user wrote on Reddit.
"It's a sad state of the world," another commented. "I used to enjoy Vo-Vo's, they have gone the same way. Recipe changed and getting smaller. Sadly given up on them."
Arnott's is not the only company to be accused of "shrinkflation" in recent weeks. Shrinkflation is the term used to describe the phenomenon of products shrinking in size but not in price.
Earlier this month, Cadbury was forced to defend itself against accusations of shrinkflation after allegedly reducing the size of its Easter eggs.
So why do companies engage in shrinkflation?
"I'd like to understand the mindset which compels people to make their product worse in the expectation they will make more money, especially when their product is completely optional in the first place," one Reddit user commented.
Arnott's has come under fire from social media users for reducing the size of its famous Kingstons biscuits.
Credits: Arnott's
Others suggested that it was a way for companies to sneakily save money on ingredients.
"The trick is to make it worse but not unbearably worse," one user wrote. "As inflation rises, the cost of ingredients rises so when you're a company built on making as much $$$ as you can, rather than take a tiny hit to your profit margin, you just reduce costs by making each unit smaller."
"Most things hit by shrinkflation are still good enough to buy, they're just smaller so you feel a bit ripped off but you'd still buy it again," the user continued. "Like I swear Drumsticks and Giant Sandwiches have gotten way smaller and me growing up and getting bigger hands doesn't account for all of it. But they still taste the same which is key."
However, the user warned that companies need to be careful not to mess with the taste of their products, as this can lead to a complete abandonment of the product.
"Arnott's [screwed] up big time when they decided to completely overhaul their Shapes recipes to something weird and gross," the user wrote. "That was an important shrinkflation lesson. You can mess with the size but mess with the taste to cut costs and people will abandon your product in an instant."
It remains to be seen whether Arnott's will face a similar fate.
In the meantime, social media users are urging others to boycott the company's products.
"Boycott them publicly," one user wrote. "It worked on shapes (back to original recipe) and they even brought back toobs."
Time will tell whether Arnott's will be forced to back down on its smaller biscuits. But one thing is for sure: shrinkflation is a real phenomenon, and it's something that Aussies need to be more aware of.
Have you noticed any other products that have been shrinking in size? Name and shame them below.