This week it was headline news that supermarket brands are profiteering and charging more than inflation for branded goods.
Like many, most will think this is not anything new and will have wondered for ages how inflation being around 10% is actually calculated when some foods have seen increases as much as 20% and more. Items that were a £1 not too long ago are often now in the £1.30 mark.
While some will avoid these extreme price rises and opt to buy supermarket own ranges, I would argue that this is only part of the problem. It is disgusting that parents are being charged extreme sums for baby formula.
As well as price increases, how many products now weigh less with lighter contents. Packaging that contained large quantities now containing a lot less. Shrinkage they call it in the industry or shrinkflation. Supposedly the act of downsizing the size of a product to keep prices stable but are many manufacturers decreasing sizes and adding costs to products? I think so.
Cadburys is a good example of skrinkflation though they have been up to this for years. Chunky dairy milk bars are now just flat chocolate slabs rather than the large chunks we used to snap. And they are one of the worst for constantly putting up prices.
Shrinking products needs to stop with true cost of living price rises added only. Certainly the practice that many firms are taking advantage to increase margins needs to stop.
This picture depicts a good example of shrinkation.
