New Delhi: Consumers across India have been feeling for many months now that their regular products, though being sold by the same brands, are shrinking. From biscuits to soaps, chips to detergents, the list of items that people buy almost every other day seems a lot lighter in weight. Now, new reports confirm that major FMCG companies have been quietly using “shrinkflation,” a method where product quantity is reduced but price remains unchanged.
While shrinkflation is not illegal, it nonetheless creates a feeling of unfairness among many consumers. According to people, companies should overtly tell buyers instead of concealing the change in tiny print on the packaging. One popular example shared online demonstrates how a biscuit pack that had 12 biscuits earlier contains only 10 now and still costs the same.
Experts attribute this trend to one major cause: increasing production costs. The raw materials, energy, packaging, and transport have all gone up. Since companies do not want to raise the price and lose sales, they manufacture a smaller quantity of the product to sell at the same price. But customers feel cheated because they pay more yet get less.
Consumer groups now maintain that the government should intervene and force companies to clearly indicate if the weight of a product is being reduced. A large number of social media users are posting comparison photos of older and new packs of the same product. The debate has been so strong that the word “shrinkflation” is trending in India.
