Lovers of Galaxy chocolate bars have become the latest victims of the “shrinkflation” trend in food manufacturing, after the brand’s owner, Mars Inc, reduced the size of the bars.
Shrinkflation is a tactic commonly used by the food industry, where manufacturers cut pack sizes without reducing prices, as they look to reduce their costs amid stubbornly high food price inflation.
Galaxy’s smooth milk chocolate bar was previously sold in a pack weighing 110g, but now tips the scales at 100g.
Pricing is at the retailer’s discretion, but it is less than a year since Mars increased the recommended retail price for the 110g bar from £1.39 to £1.50.
The company confirmed that Galaxy bars are now 10% smaller than before, blaming “growing pressures” for the move.
A Mars spokesperson said: “We have been actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations, as we know the increase in the cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses across the UK.”
They added: “Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done. Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary.”
The company said reducing the pack size was a way to prevent chocolate fans from having to compromise on “quality or taste”.
Food brands have been wrestling with rising commodity, energy and labour costs since inflation began to rise rapidly after the pandemic.
Two-thirds of consumers said they had noticed products shrinking in size while the price remained the same, or even increased, according to research by Barclays in June.
Well-known products including Walkers 24-bag crisp multipacks, bags of KP peanuts, Persil washing powder boxes and Whiskas cat food are among products that have shrunk.
Consumer group Which? called on supermarkets and manufacturers to be “more upfront about the cost of their products and ensure unit pricing is prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online”.
Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? said this would allow shoppers to “easily compare prices across different brands and sizes of packaging”.
French supermarket chain Carrefour went a step further earlier this month, when it began putting labels on its shelves to warn its customers which products had shrunk in size but increased in price.
The introduction of price warnings on products including Lindt chocolates and Lipton iced tea was seen as the retailer’s attempt to put pressure on the biggest consumer good suppliers including Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever ahead of contract negotiations.
