By Belinda Castles
Researcher | Kairangahau
In Consumer NZ’s 2025 grocery survey, 72% of respondents told us they’d noticed ‘shrinkflation’ – where a company downsizes its product without downsizing their price. We’ve also noticed cases of ‘skimpflation’ – where a product’s quality takes a hit.
On a recent road trip with my mother, we both grumbled that the wine gums we were chewing had undergone a mini makeover. That got us started – complaining about other products that had shrunk.
Mum and I are not alone in noticing shrinkflation. At a time of persistently high grocery prices, nearly three-quarters of New Zealanders said they’re aware of the downsizing tactic. And they aren’t happy about it.
Respondents in Consumer’s grocery survey for 2025 reported feeling ripped off and unfairly treated. As many as 78% of respondents were concerned the supermarkets aren’t being transparent about shrinkflation, with only 12% saying “it’s usually clear”.
Skimpflation is another way manufacturers are quietly cutting costs – by reducing the quality of their products through using either inferior ingredients or less of the expensive ones.
We asked supporters to send us examples of groceries that companies have shrunk or skimped on. Here’s seven products you told us about.
Why companies use shrinkflation and skimpflation
Professor of marketing analytics at Massey University, Bodo Lang, said shrinkflation and skimpflation are tactics used by industry to sneakily maximise profits.
“Manufacturers can increase their profits in different ways. Either increase the price and keep the quantity and quality the same, keep the price the same and reduce the size of the product (shrinkflation) or reduce the quality or value of the product (skimpflation).”
Lang said price increases are risky for brands because consumers are sensitive to escalating prices, so manufacturers tend to avoid them. That’s where the other two tactics come in – both are subtle strategies to increase profits.
“For consumers, spotting weight differences with shrinkflation is more difficult than noticing a price increase. However, skimpflation is even more tricky for them to detect and is particularly concerning,” he said.
Lang said very few consumers carefully read ingredients lists on the back of packaging and would struggle to recall how much of the key ingredient had been in the product previously.
“Key ingredients are often the ones being skimped on. Take olive oil in spreads – it’s promoted on the front, but tiny print on the back or base of the product makes skimping hard to spot for consumers.”
An investigation by the United Kingdom’s consumer organisation Which? found several examples of skimpflation:
chicken enchiladas (chicken content reduced from 27% to 20%)
pork sausages (pork content reduced from 97% to 90%)
guacamole (avocado content reduced from more than 80% to 77%).
“Skimpflation is already happening. In the future, I expect most consumers could be duped by this tactic because it is so difficult to detect,” said Lang.
Is shrinkflation and skimpflation legal?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing legally wrong with companies reducing the size of their packaging or skimping on ingredients by stealth.
However, we think companies have a responsibility to make it clear to consumers when they’re changing their products to ensure consumers aren’t being misled.
Some companies already do this. Nestlé told us it communicated the changes to its cappuccino sachets on the product packaging and its website.
We think all companies need to do this.
Supermarkets also need to front up. French supermarket chain Carrefour puts warning labels on shelves advising customers when a product has shrunk in size.
In 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report into supermarket competition. The watchdog recommended supermarkets be required to publish notifications when package sizes change.
We think New Zealand consumers should experience the same transparency.
If you notice examples of shrinkflation or skimpflation, we’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected]
How to save money at the supermarket with unit pricing
The easiest way to compare the price of products, regardless of packaging size, is to check their unit prices.
A Consumer survey found 64% of respondents felt unit pricing helped them save money.
Unit prices show the cost per unit of measure – for example, per 100g. There’s a list of measurements stores must use based on the product type. For example, meat must be priced per kilogram, drinks per litre and toilet paper per 100 sheets.
The unit price has to be shown “clearly and legibly”. The font size of the unit price must be at least 25% of the font size of the actual price. The unit price must also be displayed close to the price.
Unit pricing became mandatory on 31 August 2023, but supermarkets were given a year to comply. Since 31 August 2025, supermarket websites have also been required to display unit pricing.
Some products are exempt from unit pricing. These include alcohol, tobacco, magazines, flowers and toys.
Smaller stores, under 1,000m2, don’t have to display unit pricing – but if they choose to, they must stick to the unit pricing rules.
Here are our top tips.
Compare different product sizes
Unit pricing lets you compare how much a product costs when it comes in different sizes by comparing the price per unit of measure. Is it cheaper to buy the bigger packet of cereal? How about a 6-pack or 12-pack of toilet paper? Beware! Bigger is not always cheaper. That’s where unit pricing comes in.
Compare different options and brands
If you’re making pizza, you might wonder how much more you’ll pay for the convenience of pre-grated cheese. The different product sizes make it difficult to compare prices until you check the unit prices.
Likewise, it can be tricky to know which brands are better value. Is it cheaper to buy a 180g block of Cadbury chocolate or a 250g Whittaker’s block? Unit pricing makes it easy.
Compare bulk-bin foods to packaged products
You can check the unit price to work out whether it’s cheaper buying from the bulk bin. It might come as a surprise, but a packaged product can sometimes be cheaper.
Compare the same product at different supermarkets
Supermarkets don’t always stock the same size of a product. New World, Pak’nSave and Woolworths’ websites let you sort products by unit price. Compare the unit prices to decide if it’s worth shopping around.
Check if a ‘special’ is worth buying
Supermarket aisles are awash with ‘specials’ tags, such as ‘Extra low’, ‘Super saver’ and ‘Member price’. Unit pricing is your best friend when it comes to working out which product is the best value. It may not be the one being promoted. It’s also a good way to check if a multi-buy offer is really the best deal. If a product is really on special, the unit price will change to reflect this.
Unit pricing – the secret to saving at the supermarket
Find out more about how to use unit pricing to save at the supermarket.
