Food packaging gimmicks give consumers less
Few things are more infuriating than tearing into a bag of chips to find that it's mostly filled with air, or digging into a "pint" of ice cream that - on closer inspection - is only 14 ounces, according to Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports takes a close look at some big packages and bold claims - and shares what the companies' customer service representatives said when it called, as any consumer would, to ask: "Where's the rest?"
• Same "Giant" Label, Different Size. When "large" doesn't pack a punch, "marketers go bigger and bolder, and neutralize the competition," said Mark Lang, Ph.D., professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph's University. Hershey's has its Extra Large (4.25 ounces), King (2.6) and Giant Special Dark chocolate bars (6.8, down from its original 8 ounces). And not all "giants" are created equal: The Giant milk chocolate version weighs in at a full 7 ounces. Why the difference? "It could be a marketing reason, but I really don't know," a rep said.
• Lowering the Bar. Like other companies, Ivory has downsized; it shaved its standard bars from 4.5 to 4 ounces in 2012. But the iconic product has a smaller doppelgänger. When you buy a 10-pack, you get the standard-sized soap cakes. Purchase a 3-pack, and the look-alike bars weigh in at only 3.1 ounces. Be sure to compare the cost of the soap on the price per pound (usually indicated on the unit-price label), not on the cost per bar.
• Less Fattening Ice Cream. "Larger package, two less bars, same price. Really?" wrote Jacquelyn Wood of Salem, New Hampshire, when she sent Consumer Reports a photo of a 12- and 10-pack of Hood ice cream sandwiches, each selling for $5. According to a customer service representative, the reason Hood shrunk its sandwich count last year was to be in sync with the industry standard. But why did the company make the box bigger in the process? For that, the rep had no answer.
• The Chips Are Down. Why is it that chip bags always seem to be so filled with air? "So the chips can move freely in the bag to avoid breakage," said a rep for Snyder's of Hanover. When Consumer Reports asked why the snack giant recently shrunk the size of its bag of tortilla chips from a pound to 12.5 ounces, the rep cited increased production costs. Fair enough, but the expectation that an unopened product will be only half-full can make spotting downsizing even trickier.
• Hot-Dogging It. The "50 Percent More Than Our 12 Oz." claim on a French's mustard bottle seems to indicate that consumers will get 50 percent more for their money. But the smaller print shows that the difference between the 18-ounce bottle and the 12-ounce one is, well, just that. According to a customer rep, the label isn't misleading because the word "free" doesn't appear anywhere. "We do it mostly for the moms," the rep said. "Back in the day, the mustard came only in 12-ounce's. We put 50 percent more in the bottle, so it would last all summer and you wouldn't have to go out and buy another. Sorry for the confusion."
• Dimples Aren't Always Cute. One way Consumer Reports has seen peanut butter and mayonnaise makers conceal the fact that you are getting less - even though you are paying the same - is by retaining a container's dimensions but crafting a dimple into the base. When CR called Jif to ask about downsizing, the customer service rep confirmed that in 2012, Jif's 18-ounce container shrunk to 16 ounces, as an alternative to a price increase. The most probable reason, the rep said, was the rising cost of peanuts.