Smrskflation in the Czech Republic. In addition to chips, ketchup and spring packaging have also been reduced – News

Smrskflation, which is a translation of the English word shrinkflation introduced this summer, is a hidden form of inflation in the form of a smaller package of goods sold at the same price or the same thing Among the most famous examples in the world at one time were the Toblerone chocolates or the packaging of M&M candies.

Manufacturers and traders are responsible for the fact that the buyer will not be aware of reducing the weight of the package, sometimes while maintaining the original air-filled bag, and will not obstruct are bought as much as if the product becomes more expensive.

As can be seen from the following examples, the decline in food packaging and even drugstores has been a noticeable trend in recent years. Some manufacturers hide the trick by offering many different packaging options, even at the same time. For example, in the packaging of Bohemia Chips, the Kupi.cz server, which monitors the development of product prices in discount leaflets, has recorded twenty different variations from 2012 to the present day.

“Also, for example, the Orion Chocolate Student seal from the manufacturer Nestlé has reduced its size several times, some versions can be found in leaflet advertising at the same time,” Kupi.cz data analyst Monika Kopčilová told Novinkám.

Until 2014, a large package of 300 grams was sold for an average promotional price of 54.90 kroner, in the spring of 2015 it was reduced to 280 grams, in 2021 to 260 grams, and it is the most common product today . In September, the average promotional price was CZK 66.60.

In addition, there are also packs of 240 and 235 grams. It should be noted that the average promotional price for the latter in September was CZK 67.40.

Smaller packages of chocolate between 200 and 90 grams also underwent several changes. Today, the most commonly sold version is 170 grams for 43.10 crowns, but a 150 gram package is also offered with an average promotion price that is slightly higher, which is 44.90 crowns.

If it seems to someone that even the popular Ledňáček popsicles from Algida are getting smaller, they are not completely right, at least not in recent years. In this case, the two types of packages of 45 and 50 milliliters appear at the same time in the promotions, and this has been the case since 2013. However, discounts for smaller packages are significantly involved In 2016, it cost CZK 5.90 in events, this year around CZK 12. So it has doubled in price in eight years.

The packaging of the Franz Josef Kaiser canned tuna also received minor changes.

Even if, based on the data, the manufacturer adheres to the main changes of 160 and 170 grams at the same time from 2021, packaging of 80 grams also appeared, and in 2023, sometimes even 60 grams for an average promotion price of CZK 27.50 . This price for 170 grams is 44 crowns this year. Maybe it’s no longer surprising that people pay an extra 47.40 CZK on average for a package smaller than 160 grams in the sale.

If you don’t want to be caught, you can also check the Orbit chewing gum packaging when you buy it. Since 2018, a smaller package has appeared from 46 to 42 chewing gums in a package, and since then they have also appeared in leaflets at the same time.

And what about Hellmann’s tartar sauce? “The larger 650 milliliter pack was sold until September 2021, when it switched to the smaller 625 milliliter pack, which is still sold today. The medium 440ml pack was sold until 2013 when it switched to a 420ml pack. This was sold until 2022, and then it was reduced again to 405 ml and is still sold today,” explained Kopčilová.

For Heinz ketchup, the biggest changes happened already in 2015, when the 1,500-gram package was reduced to 1,350 grams. This was available until 2021. In 2015, kilo packaging also began to appear in labels – this continues to this day. From this year, however, we also come across a smaller package of 910 grams in the leaflets.

The famous Jar laundry liquid also had a smorgasbord. The liter size packaging appeared in labels until 2020, since 2016 a 900 milliliter packaging can be found at the same time, which is still sold.

The larger one-and-a-half pack was only found in brochures until 2017, from 2016 it was gradually replaced by 1.35 litres.

“We will see the small half-liter packaging in leaflets until 2020, starting in 2016 together with the 0.45-liter packaging, which gradually replaced it,” concluded the analyst Kopčilová.

“Reducing pressures for manufacturers to maintain or even increase margins is certainly not an entirely new tactic. This type also includes the use of substitutes for the input of raw materials, for example in the form of artificial sweeteners or palm oil,” said Banka Creditas economist Petr Dufek.