Give me more than a bite!

@Barb42 (4214)
United States
July 26, 2008 10:40pm CST
We have been discussing how the food companies are changing their ways of packaging their food or the amount they put in a package. Some of them have started putting less food in a smaller package, yet the prices stay the same. Others have continued to put the same amount in the same package, and charging more. We have not bought Little Debbie raisin cakes in a long time. But my husband had asked me to buy him some for his lunch for a change. Well, I bought some this week and tonight I decided to open them and have one with a cup of milk. I have never been so shocked in my life when I opened that box. Oh, the packaging is the same old big box, but what came out of it was less than appealing to me! Here we have 10 ozs distributed among eight cakes. Where once you had a sizable cake, you now have one that holds about two bites. I could easily put the whole thing in my mouth at once. It is not much larger than a 50 cent piece. I don't think we can blame all this on the gas prices, although it has been said they are making the packages smaller in order to be able to send more out on a truck and thereby saving money. But how much money are they saving when they put a smaller amount in the same big box and charge the same amount for the product? Maybe we need to stop buying these things we find like this and see how it affects the company. What have you come across in your grocery shopping? Do the products seem to be smaller in quantity, or smaller products for the same amount of money? Do you think the companies are compromising their products at the expense of the consumers? I would like for Little Debbie makers to bring back the WHOLE cake!
6 people like this
9 responses
@deebomb (15307)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I have read that Wal-Mart has been working with their food venders to get them to put their products into smaller packages. Hamburger Helper is now made with denser pasta shapes, allowing the same amount of food to fit into a 20% smaller box at the same price. The change has saved 890,000 pounds of paper fiber and eliminated 500 trucks from the road, giving General Mills a cushion to absorb some of the rising costs. http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/28/magazines/fortune/kapner_walmart.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008052904 I haven't bought any boxed food for a while so I don't know if this is showing up yet. but i do get tired of the 2/3 box of cereal.
• United States
27 Jul 08
I have a very large family. I used to have to buy 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper to feed my family. I haven't bought it recently, but if this is true, it looks like I'll have to start buying 4 boxes. That's just nuts!
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15307)
• United States
28 Jul 08
You should be able to tell by looking at the quantity that is marked on the box. The quatity inside is supposed to be the same just less box.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I bought some hamburger helper last week for the first time in awhile. I haven't used it yet so I can't tell about it. But I do buy Kellogs cornflakes and Special K with Berries. My husband opens the cornflakes so I don't if they have less in them or not. But my Special K seems to always be to the top and plenty of berries in it. But the price on all those boxes have risen.
2 people like this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
27 Jul 08
Keep in mind that Little Debbie has utilities to pay and transportation costs based on weight, not necessarily the number of boxes. As their expenses continue to rise many manufacturers have started to downsize so that the customer isn't hit in the pocketbook. If prices rise people stop buying and that makes it even more difficult for the manufacturer, causing many to go out of business, causing lay offs and increasing the strain on the public. I don't like the idea of getting less product for the same money but I do realize that the alternative, raising the price, will cause me to stop buying some items.
2 people like this
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I believe we are hit in the pocketbook when they downsize. We simply have to just buy more of the same product. I don't remember how many ounces used to be in the Little Debbie raisin cake boxes but I do know they were almost twice the size. So it takes twice as much to fill you up or satisfy your taste. I just ate one, but I could probably have eaten two or three.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jul 08
I've noticed the same thing going on with ice cream. It used to be that you could by a half gallon of ice cream, but now it's a few ounces short of a half gallon. There used to be sixteen servings in that half gallon and now there are twelve. But, the price is the same. I feel more guilty now when I finish an ice cream container off because I feel like I didn't measure my ice cream as it feels like it ran out early.
@katsmeow1213 (28719)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I wouldn't really mind paying more for the same old product. It's sort of expected these days with the high price of everything. But I wouldn't appreciate having a smaller amount for the price I used to pay. Just seems like they're trying to pull something over on us.
1 person likes this
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I think they realize that most people aren't going to read the label to see how much is in the package. I have seen a 16 oz package swivel to 12 ozs and still stay the same price.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
27 Jul 08
You are absolutely right! They are getting smaller and the prices are getting higher or not changing and I don't think the gas is the reason or not directly anyway. I have noticed that about the Little Debbie products. But, they are not the only ones. Everything seems to be getting smaller. At first I thought it was my vision or maybe I forgot what they were supposed to look like. I have no idea what's going on. Maybe we should write to Little Debbie and see what they have to say. I think I will do that and see what kind of answer they give. It better not be anything to do with gas!
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
27 Jul 08
I had rather pay a few more cents for the regular size Little Debbie cakes than get the package and find one is about enough for two bites. Good thing I got two packages when I bought them. I wonder how many more surprises are awaiting us in those packages.
1 person likes this
@lixiaos77 (1030)
• Shijiazhuang, China
27 Jul 08
There are always some ones pay more attention to appearance. I live a simple live, buy raw stuffs and do cooking myself. But my wife like to buy food with good appearance, and she would like i buy for her. Perhaps for some food company, their regular customer are those who cherish the appearance more.
1 person likes this
• United States
29 Jul 08
Isn't that the truth! The other day we bought those Little Debbie chocolate brownie cakes. And when I opened the box, they were so tiny! I thought I'd bought the wrong kind. In the convenience stores they sell huge Little Debbie brown cakes for 35 cents each. Most times we buy those. One cake is 350 calories and more than enough snack for one or two people. And even though it costs a little more, the recipe quality is better too! My daughter won't even eat the cheap store bought tiny cakes anymore.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I had not bought any Little Debbie cakes in awhile until I bought these. I was shocked to see how small they were. You are right. The individual cakes are much larger and cost less, probably, if we checked out the size and the amount of money spent for the ounces. I didn't buy the LD brownie cakes, but bought an off brand and they are large enough, although not as large as the ones we used to buy of the Little Debbie ones.
• Regina, Saskatchewan
1 Aug 08
Frankly, producers can blame high production/distribution costs all they want and they are still talking crap. The fact of the matter is that in today's capitalistic society the bottom line is profit or die. Costs are built into the wholesale price. Compromising the size and quality (use of cheaper ingredients/materials) is 70% marketing strategy to improve the bottom line of their profit margin and to hell with the customer satisfaction quotient. It's the same thinking behind taking a man's suit for example and charging separately for the jacket and the pants. Just wait. The day is coming when you'll be paying for a pair of shoes the same way....$50 for the right foot and the second foot thrown in for another $50. Welcome to the selfish world of free enterprise!
• Regina, Saskatchewan
1 Aug 08
Do you have BoGo shoe stores where you are? The first time I saw one of their commercials I nearly fell off m chair. B(buy)o(one)G(get)o(one) - in other words" Buy one Get one" and the first thing I thought was "Well slap me silly, they're selling shoes separately now!" LOL I'm waiting with bated breath for NIKE to catch on to this marketing strategy! ROFL
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
1 Aug 08
I believe you are right - profit is the name of the game. But your comment about the shoes selling separately made me laugh. But you might be on to something! They can always come up with a way to make more and more money off the consumer!
1 person likes this
@ch88ss (2271)
• United States
1 Aug 08
Oh yes, I even notice the cereals have bigger boxes, like cartons to make it look bigger. But once you open it, it is 1/4 empty already. I hate that. I have to go back to the market sooner to pick up more again.