Since the shrink ray is so prevalent, marketers need to generate an eye-catching symbol that signifies the product hasn't been downsized, still giving customers the same value. Has anyone seen similar products bragging about their shrink ray avoidance?

Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America says, "the Coca-Cola mini can innovation reinforces the Company's support for healthy, active lifestyles."

Nutritionally, the soda in the can will be identical to that sold in other containers, which means it will have about 3.4 grams of sugar per ounce, or about 24 grams per 7.5 ounce can.

Judging from the unit pricing that's prevalent for Coke's current 8-ounce cans, the new size could sell for about 6.7 cents per ounce, or about 50 cents per can vs. as little as 2 cents per ounce for two-liter bottles.

Previous studies of overpriced reduced-size packages have found that they don't cut consumption, and we don't expect anything different this time. But the new can could come in handy if mixing drinks is part of your healthy, active lifestyle.

Coca-Cola Unveils Sleek, New 90-Calorie Mini Can [Business Wire]

PREVIOUSLY:
Sugar Water: New Coke Labels Show How Many Empty Calories You're Drinking
Diet: 100 Calorie Packs Makes You Fat

(Photo: Business Wire)

Thank you for contacting the Georgia-Pacific Consumer Response Center. Georgia-Pacific places tremendous importance on the opinions we receive from our customers. We understand you may have some concerns about the roll width and/or sheet count of Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r). As noted at the bottom of the package, Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r) is about 1/2 inch narrower than before, and we have slightly reduced the sheet count.

Because of today's economy, cost is a factor. We made the decision to slightly reduce the roll to bring you the bathroom tissue you trust and not raise our price to retailers. Quilted Northern Soft & Strong continues to provide the cleanliness and comfort you have come to expect, making it a great value in today's economy. As always, Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r) is thick, absorbent, and gentle on your skin. The bathroom tissue features strength and durability for cleanliness, with softness and thickness for comfort. With Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r), you do not have to compromise comfort for clean.

In fact, we've heard from many of our most loyal customers about how important the quality of our bathroom tissue is to them. For more than 100 years, consumers have trusted Quilted Northern Soft and Strong(r) to deliver what they want most in a bathroom tissue: cleanliness and comfort. We would never make this change if our core consumers didn't approve of the product.

We're sorry you are disappointed with the changes we've made to the roll size of Quilted Northern Soft & Strong(r). Georgia-Pacific is committed to providing the best quality products. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer a money back guarantee or product redemption at this time.

Georgia Pacific Consumer Products LP is committed to continuous product improvement and providing a variety of products to serve you. If you have further questions or comments, please contact us at our toll free number: 1-800-2TELLGP (1-800-283-5547) or e-mail us at: gpcrc@gapac.com. You may also visit our website at www.gp.com. Thank you.

In a time where consumers are both watching their dollars shrink and their asses grow, this seems an especially un-smooth move.

At left is a side-by-side roll comparison sent in by Richard. The width of each roll has been decreased from 4.5 inches to 4 inches.

Jack notes:

Both say "24 Double Rolls = 48 Regular Rolls" but the previously purchased rolls have 300 sheets each that are 4.5 inches by 4 inches. The new packages have rolls that contain only 286 4 inch by 4 inch rolls. The older rolls had 900 square feet, while the new ones only 762.6 square feet.

So let's see - on each roll I get 137.4 fewer square feet, 14 fewer sheets, and each sheet is half an inch narrower(!), yet the price is approximately the same (about $10 a package on sale, if you have a coupon). Good job, Northern, you've just convinced me to start buying the store brand, or at least some other brand that doesn't try to short me on the size of the rolls.

Apparently, the difference is fairly obvious once the new roll is placed on a spool, so we're not sure who Georgia-Pacific, maker of Northern, thinks they're kidding.

In response to sky-rocketing commodities prices, food and consumer product manufacturers started reducing the amount of product you got in various boxes and packages while keeping the price the same. Indeed, readers continue to find new examples to this month. We dubbed this practice the "Grocery Shrink Ray." At the time, I expressed my skepticism that when commodities prices eventually fell again that manufacturers, having acclimated us to getting less for our money, would pass on the savings. Looks like this Cassandra was right on the money.

(Thanks to Steve518!)
PREVIOUSLY: Grocery Shrink Ray thread
BONUS: United States of Shrink Ray Anthem

The bag now contains 10 ounces of chocolate goodness instead of the previous 12, but the recipe on the back of the bag was left unchanged. Oops. "The shrink ray found its most important target but failed to remove all evidence. To adjust I just need to be sure to use only 1.67 eggs," Mike observed.

(Photo: The GlassPeople)

Dan says:

I recently bought a replacement for the soap in my bathroom. It is the same brand and scent. My old soap, pictured on the left, contains 11.25 ounces. The new container on the right, while smaller and more stylish, contains only 8.5 ounces. While the prices have changed little at least I will now have a more attractive sink.... at least as soon as I finish the first one.

Now, we don't want to accuse the good people at Softsoap of making their bottles easily shrinkable by design, but it is an awfully handy feature. The new bottle is, at least, pretty aerodynamic. Maybe Dan should keep the one he finds more aesthetically pleasing... and buy refills? (Thanks Dan!)

Real Chocolate Relief Act [Mars] (Thanks to meninblack!)

This is a picture of Mission Soft Flour Tortillas (Medium size), which are the tortillas my husband has used for years for his Doggos. About a year ago, they were hit by the Grocery Shrink Ray - we were still paying for the 10-tortilla package, but it now came with only eight tortillas. It actually made my husband mad enough to try to find another brand, but none of them were exactly what he wanted - so we went back to them, grudgingly.

And look! Now they are generously providing us with *TWO* extra tortillas, bringing the total back up to 10! It's kind of like daylight savings, I guess - you're so happy to get the hour back you don't notice it was the same one that was stolen from you back in the Spring.

Oh well, at least they didn't call it a "super size" package and raise the price.

Tony sent this to us back in May. What's interesting is that the bag contents changed (from one ounce to .8 ounces...that's 20% less.) but that the boxes are still labeled as containing 1-ounce bags.

PREVIOUSLY:
PopChips: Turning Loyal Customers Into Cult-Like Snack Food Following

Take it away, Pedro:

ConAgra Foods, maker of Peter Pan Peanut Butter products has come up with an ingenious way to use the Grocery Shrink Ray Gun to pad their bottom line and at the same time save the Earth (or at least fool those pesky tree huggars!).

I normally eat PBnJ sandwiches at least 3 times a week. For myself, its been a staple for lunch that provides me a filling and delicious meal at a reasonable cost. However, the jar I normally purchase has been reduced in size to something slimmer, yet slightly taller. At first glance, it seems as if you're getting a larger jar. The bold sticker claiming "New Earth Friendly Jar - Now 9% less plastic per oz." even made me feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that another corporate giant was taking a step to being a more responsible corporate citizen. Well on my way home, I got to thinking how strange it was for a claim to say 9% less per oz. The 'per oz.' just sounded fishy and based on what I read about the Grocery Shrink Ray Gun, I had my suspicions. When I arrived home, I pulled out my trusty calculator and went with my hunch. I wondered to myself if the difference in package sizes amounted to the very same 9% that ConAgra was claiming to save the Earth by. Well I divided the 462 grams of their Earth friendly jar with the 510 grams from their non-Earth friendly jar which gave me a figure of 91% rounded up. My suspicions were correct. ConAgra was saving the earth by selling us the same product in a smaller package at the same price. Grocery Shrink Ray guns strikes again!

For ConAgra to dupe their customers under the guise of an environmental goodwill gesture is downright sleazy. That's like GM selling an Eco Friendly Hummer because they created a model that had a 10 gallon fuel tank as opposed to a 20 gallon fuel tank (notwithstanding that they would also be ripping their customers by skimping on their product and selling less then what is expected).

How is this Earth friendly?

We suspect Captain Hook or his shifty-eyed first mate Smee have made off with the extra PB and this is all just a cover-up.

(Photos: Pedro)

Bryan writes:

I was grocery shopping last weekend when I noticed that the bottle for Naked Juice's "Strawberry Kiwi Kick" had a different-colored cap. This is my favorite Naked Juice product, thanks to the added guarana, green tea and B vitamins, so I was paying enough attention to notice that something on the bottle had changed. Curious, I picked up a bottle to see if this meant a change to what was IN the bottle.

Alas, the "Kick" is no more. Gone are the supplements, including plain ol' Vitamin C. Strawberry Kiwi Kick is just fruit juice.

I contacted Naked Juice through their Web site to ask them what happened to the Kick part of the beverage. After all, the "Kick" branding seems to imply a boost from the supplements, just like the "Motion" in Orange Mango Motion or the "Rush" in Black & Blueberry Rush, etc, each of which also used to contain energetic supplements. I told them that if the supplements have been removed permanently, I'd be skipping their brand altogether and buying an organic energy drink and fresh fruit instead.

Naked responded with some rah-rah about how their "devotees" preferred a focus on the quality of the juices rather than on the boosts. A full copy of our correspondence is forwarded below. They also mailed me a coupon for a free 15.2 ounce bottle of the Naked Juice flavor of my choice (used on a classic-formula bottle of SKK, still available from a few local retailers who apparently don't turn their stock as often) and, for some reason, a temporary tattoo of the Naked Juice logo.

Here's part of the response Bryan received:

As you seem to have noticed, our Energy flavors are now a part of our Well Being family of juices. We changed the ingredients in our Energy flavors, including Strawberry Kiwi Kick, which makes them a better fit for the Well Being family. You can check out our changes to the former Energy drinks at the following web address (just click on "Our Juices"): [link to nakedjuice website]

We made the decision to change the formula based on feedback from our devotees who said we should focus more on the juices and less on the boosts. We'll share your comments with our marketing team and let them know that you'd like us to reintroduce the Energy formula.

Bryan points out that the prices for the drinks remain the same. "[There's] no discount in price to reflect the elimination of several ingredients. Of course, I'm sure they'd explain it by saying the remaining juice is of a higher quality than what they were using before."

A Home Depot spokesperson told the Associated Press that there have been no customer complaints, but most of their customers probably don't know about it in the first place. Home Depot's customers may be happy, but there have clearly been some complaints in California, because the state has launched an investigation into "short filling" to see why retailers have effectively raised prices on the gas without clearly notifying customers.

"Propane suppliers quietly reduce size of refills" [Associated Press] (Thanks to Larry and Cathy!)
"Propane 'Short-Filling' Launches State Investigation" [KTXL Fox40]
(Photo: sidewalk flying)

I was picking up baby formula the other night and noticed that the kind we'd been buying was touting a "new formulation." At around $25 a container, it's one of the more expensive formulas (it's hard to justify skimping when you know the formula helps your daughter's colic.) Once I got the new formula home I compared it with the "old formula." You can see that the new one has far less weight per canister, but more importantly only makes 75% of the fluid ounces that the old one did.... and still right at $25. I feel a little ripped off, and wanted anyone else using the stuff to be aware of the "improvement".

Meanwhile, the Shrink Ray hit the contents of Josh's Opti-Free contact lens solution, but not the bottle. He writes:

I just bought some Opti-Free contact lens solution this morning, and thought it felt a little light. After holding the sealed bottle up to the light, I noticed that the level was around an inch from the top.

Having my old bottle close at hand, I notice that the bottles were the same size, yet the new bottles only have 10 oz - 2 oz. and more than 15% less than the older 12 oz bottles.

It goes without saying, of course, that the prices on all of these items remained unchanged.

Ben & Jerry's, however, is refusing to slim down. Here's the email that announces their immunity from the dreaded Grocery Shrink Ray:

One of our competitors (think funny sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient & manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. At Ben & Jerry's we think downsizing pints is downright wrong. We understand that in today's hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, & think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream.

We are even more committed today to lead with our values through the quality of our ingredients & how we source them to make the best ice cream possible. So, while our competitor may be experiencing a bit of shrinkage, rest assured that your Ben & Jerry's will still be standing tall in the freezer. Enjoy!

Ohhh, Häagen-Dazs got called out....

We noted in July that food prices were expected to rise. The justifications offered by the companies at the time were that the price increases were necessary due to the rises in the cost of production and commodity prices.

When we wrote that post, gas was about $4 per gallon. The price has fallen dramatically since September, to around $2 per gallon, about what it was in 2005. So fuel costs are no longer a justification.

The Times article cites a few examples of products whose main ingredients have also decreased in price, yet the products themselves have gotten more expensive (and gotten smaller). Kraft macaroni and cheese, for instance, went up by 9% this year, even though cheese and wheat prices have dropped by 38-68%. There's a chart that lists the drops in commodity prices over the last year; pretty much everything but chicken wings and pineapples have decreased in price.

Manufacturers blame the price increases on futures contracts they unwisely bought, and now they're paying too much for cheapened ingredients. Bad speculation strikes again!

Grocers, name-brand food producers at odds over prices [L.A. Times]
(Photo: billadler)

Consumer-Goods Makers Heed 'Paycheck Cycle' [WSJ] (Thanks to RandomHookup!)

Foster's cans 330ml stubbies [smh.com.au] (Thanks to Kevin!) (Photo: James Cridland)

Tipster Lee writes:

I probably buy too many M&Ms. I often buy the medium-sized bags when they're on sale (for $1.99 or less per bag). Perhaps I could get them cheaper if I bought larger bags from Costco, but it's more convenient if I buy them from one of the numerous drugstores I frequent in my neighborhood.

For quite a while now the medium-sized bags have been 14 oz. Yesterday I picked up a few bags of the Valentine Day theme M&Ms and I immediately knew that something was amiss. The bags seemed lighter. Indeed, the weight was listed as 12.60oz, which happens to be exactly 10% less than 14oz.

I suppose they could claim that only the Valentine M&Ms are like this, but previous "special" themes have always been 14oz (i.e. the Halloween and Autumn Mix bags shown below.) And at the store I was at, both the regular Medium bags (which are still 14oz) and the vday bags had the same "regular" price of $3.79, making people believe that they are basically the same amount of product. I believe that they're testing the shrink ray waters and will eventually shrink the standard Medium-sized bags (and possibly also the Small and Larger bags).

Yours truly Ben Popken was featured ever so briefly in a NBC Nightly News report tonight about the Grocery Shrink Ray.

I would have given a heads up but this was supposed to run over a month ago and I had no idea it ran tonight until someone saw it and told me. If you're just tuning in, the Grocery Shrink Ray is what we term the phenomenon of product sizes and contents going down but the price remaining the same, a practice that's gone on for decades but accelerated rapaciously this year. Here are our previous posts about it, many of which were prompted by readers sending in examples they spotted on their supermarket shelves. Some of these examples ended up cited in tonight's broadcast - yay for reader tips!

From CBS11:

"It's shorter. It's smaller. It's an ounce less," laughs customer Suzanne Taylor.

But the prices have not changed.

"I could have bought a big thing of Oreos for three bucks," adds other customer Wendy Smoot.

Colleen Walker, the CEO for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, said they had to do it.

"Cocoa, sugar and flour have gone up a minimum of 30 percent in the last year."

Tragic.

Also, in case you were wondering, even shrunken Girl Scout cookies are tax deductible — if you don't keep the cookies for yourself. Tax Cat explains more, here.

Economy Downsizing Girl Scout Cookies [CBS11] (Thanks, Michael!)

We're concerned by the quotes around "4 LB BAG" on the top right. It could just be misuse of quotation marks for emphasis, but it reminds us of last week's story about TV manufacturers adding "class" after the inch listing so they can list a 31.5-inch screen as a 32-inch screen. Are these chicken wings actually 3 pounds, 8 ounces, and they're rounding up?

Thanks, Stephen!

The Times writes that advertising circulars for Best Buy, Circuit City, and other stores are listing TVs as inch "classes," rather than actual measurements, to allow them to shave half an inch off the actual screen size. Take this one from Best Buy: Dynex® - 32" Class 720p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV - Matte Black. It then goes on to say 32 inches twice more:

Experience your favorite action movies and sports shows in high-definition on this 32" LCD HDTV that features an ultrafast 6.5 ms response time for fluid visuals and wide 176° viewing angles that help make any seat the best in the house.
What's Included

* Dynex® 32" Class 720p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
* Stationary base
* Remote with batteries
* 5' detachable power cord
* Owner's manual

Scroll down further, though, and it lists a "31-1/2" screen size measured diagonally from corner to corner, ideal for medium-size rooms." These inch class listings exist for Samsung, Toshiba, and other big manufacturers. The Times reporter contacted the stores and manufacturers and got varying explanations. Best Buy said:

We also started using the word “Class” to describe the size of the television if the screen size was not, in fact, exactly the size at which that television is classified . . . . If a 32″ television is actually 31.5″ we think a customer might want to know that even though it might not seem like a big deal to some people.

This is troubling news. At least with the grocery shrink ray, the reduced size wasn't deceptively labeled (imagine a Breyer's "Half-Gallon Class" that only contained 1.5 quarts).

The Mysterious Shrinking TV [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)

While we've done many shrink ray posts, I've wondered how much the non-Consumerist-reading population has noticed. Well, an October '07 survey found 47% of consumers said they noticed packages were becoming more diminuative. Since the pace, and the coverage, of shrinking packages has greatly increased since then, that number surely must be higher. Don't forget to compare unit prices!

Freshly squeezed: The ever-shrinking box and carton [StarTribune] (Thanks to al koholic!) (Photo: Mykl Roventine)

Dave says:

I was doing an online survey and was questioned about my opinion on fish-sticks.

I'm sure other readers would also note the difference, however, they must assume the panelists to be daft.

What else was I expected to notice? His slicker is now Land's End?

I probably won't be empaneled any time soon.

Here are the questions Dave was asked:

Perhaps this is too deep a look into the minds that are responsible for the Grocery Shrink Ray. The abyss stares back and all that...

Note: The photo gallery was malfunctioning yesterday, so now that everything is fixed, I'm moving the post back up the page.

Click on a picture below to see it larger and read the tipster's dispatch.

Dale writes: "The shrink ray has hit Burger King waffle cone. On Wed & Sun, they are only $1.29 (used to be $0.99) I noticed that not only has it shrunk in size, but the waffle cone taste terrible. Seems like they switched manufactures to make the waffle cone part. Maybe they only use the cheep cones on Wed & Sun."

Rich writes: "You might want to investigate so called "solid pack" White Albacore Tuna, most notably Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee. They now contain an inordinate amount of water in their packaging...After draining the can there is far less tuna and far less "solid" chuncks, about one third of the product looks like counter-scrapings. "

Lee writes: "I have noticed in the local Wal Mart (Washington Square Shopping Center, near Ferry Farm, in Fredericksburg, Virginia) that they rolled back the price on the large bags of Meow Mix cat chow from $10.26 down to $10 even. What they did not tell you was that the bags have shrunk from 18 lbs down to 16 lbs. I wish I had photos of this but they tend to frown on people taking pictures inside of the store."

Jonas writes: "Dreyers Ice Cream has also gone to !.5 Quarts = 48 oz.
Dreyers is Nestle
1/2 Gallon = 64 oz
1,75 Quarts = 56 oz
1.50 Quarts = 48 oz"

Anda writes: "Great, I thought. I'll finally be able to get that last little bit I lose to the rim of the can. Nice, square plastic pop-top canister, but a little more compact. I was completely suspicious. I work in graphic design and packaging, so I know what a redesign means for the consumer. I decided to check out the bottle ratio on the back. Lo and behold, Similac is trying to pull one over on the poor consumer. The large canister now only makes 27 6oz bottles at the same price of $22.99."

Raymond writes: "Folgers coffee (100 Colombian) just got attacked by the mighty Grocery Shrink Ray. Can't get a pic because of quality, but it had 988 grams and now as 798; a fifth of the original amount gone."

Chris writes: "My name is Chris and I work at Safeway/Vons. The product in question is Tuna Helper. Today in checkout someone bought about eight boxes of it, and six failed to scan (item not found). Me and the other checker turned them over to find that the last 5 digits of the UPC were different. I began looking over the boxes...until I looked at the weight. The boxes that wouldn't scan (I'm guessing because they haven't been put in our system yet) are 7.1 Ounces, while the older boxes were 8 ounces. Side-by-side, you can't tell the difference between the two boxes, as the cardboard part of the box is the same exact size. Only the contents inside have changed in quantity. This is the first instance I've ever seen of this happening, and I'm not sure of it spreading anywhere outside of California. I'm also unsure of if it affects Hamburger Helper as well."

BettiePageMommie writes: "I had been buying my son Nutripals fruit bars for snacks since he is a very picky eater and I thought it would be a nutritious snack he could have and enjoy.

The bars in the first few boxes I purchased were of decent size, length and width- wise. Length- wise, I would say they are about 5- 6 inches and I'd say width- wise, about the size of two pinky fingers beside each other. Then more recently I bought a box and the bars are HALF the size width- wise than what I had been receiving. SAME PRICE, less product. These things can go for as much as $3.50- 5 for a box of 6, depending on where you shop. I feel jipped.

I don't have any pictures to upload because my son has already eaten the bigger bars, and we only have the small crappy sized bars left. I doubt I'll be buying them again. They do have drinks you can buy, and my son loves those. I haven't seen a size reduction in those. YET."

Tropicana writes:

"We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns about our new 89 oz SNAP Cap bottle.

Our decision to improve our bottle was not recent. Based upon feedback from families where children pour their own juice, we began working on this new package concept more than two years ago. The idea was to have an innovative cap that easily and securely sealed just by pressing on it, and one that easily poured without "glugging," the primary reason for spilling.

The downsizing from 96 to 89 ounces wasn't a decision we took lightly. As you are aware, oil costs have skyrocketed. Oil is used to make plastic bottles, fuel our factories, and ship our juice across the country in refrigerated trains and trucks. We had the choice to either increase prices or to downsize the bottle. We chose to downsize the bottle but add value through the innovation of the SNAP cap and new bottle, which consumers were seeking.

Although you may not agree with our decisions, we hope you can appreciate that they were made in the best interest of our consumers and shareholders. Please be assured that feedback from consumers, such as yourself, does influence decisions, and your comments have been shared with our marketing group.

We value your business, Glen, and have mailed coupons to use toward a future purchase. Again, thanks for your input and sharing your concerns.

Theresa
Tropicana Consumer Response"

ELSEWHERE:

• Even comic strip Baldo has noticed the grocery shrink ray trend.
• Burger King is testing a smaller Whopper. [Restaurant News]
• QFT, now that's a headline! WSJ: Food Makers Scrimp on Ingredients In an Effort to Fatten Their Profits
• The New York Times chimes in."Ate a Whole Pint? Check Again"

For ideas on defeating the shrinking-product-same-price phenom, read 3 Ways To Beat The Grocery Shrink Ray.

Got a hot grocery-shrink-ray tip? Send your pictures and stories to tips@consumerist.com

PREVIOUSLY:
15 Victims Of The Grocery Shrink Ray
Entire Grocery Shrink Ray thread

Food Amounts Shrink Over Years, But Containers Are Same Size [WTAE] (Thanks to Kevin!)

From Sara Lee Corp.'s new ad campaign with The Walt Disney Co.'s "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" to Kraft's new pizza commercials preaching "DiGiornonomics," consumers should expect to be blitzed by food advertisements in the next year.

Many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets, including print, television, in-store promotion and the Internet — which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.

Analysts say it makes sense, even as these companies grapple with high prices for oil, corn and grains.

Consumers aren't going to change what they eat as they pull away from restaurants, said Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm the NPD Group, and an expert on American eating patterns. They're just going to look for bargains, and that can mean changing brands.

"It's very hard for us to change our behavior. If we like ice cream, we're going to continue eating ice cream," he said. "Now the question is going to be what brand you're going to buy."

Remember, the Grocery Shrink Ray goes wild over brands. Savvy consumerists know to resist the advertising, and will see this as an opportunity to reaffirm their unending allegiance to the lowest price.

Foodmakers plan big ad campaigns in down economy [AP]
(Photo: GirlReporter)

Many restaurants are trying to sate diners and give them a sense of plenty for the lowest price possible.

“You have to be smart as a restaurateur and a chef and say, what’s the most value I can put on this plate so it looks like a lot of food and still appears to be a value and doesn’t anger anyone?” Ms. Taras Wallach of Little Giant said.

“I serve a lot of grits,” she added.

And many restaurants are trying harder than ever not to let any seats go to waste. Ms. Arpaia said that at Mia Dona she is accepting more reservations between 7 and 9 p.m. rather than steering diners toward early and late times that they might reject. Even if this means lengthening diners’ waits for reserved tables, she, like other restaurateurs, wants to make sure that no-shows don’t cost the restaurant money.

“I’d rather have people wait at the bar and buy them a free drink than not get them in the door,” she said, adding that she knows of other restaurants acting in a similar, extra-cautious fashion.

“You should see, when [the Europeans] come in the door, the shopping bags they hand off to the coat check,” said Graceanne Jordan, the general manager at the Modern, which is part of the Union Square group and is near the shopping corridors of Madison and Fifth Avenues.

“I mean, they’re just spending. It’s Monopoly money to them.”

So if you want that prime-time reservation, break out your best cash-happy faux-Euro accent and ask: "Sir? SIR! Ver eez my täbel, monsieur?"

As Belts Tighten, Lobsters Shrink and Bar Menus Grow [The New York Times]
(Photo: Sherry's Rose Cottage)

I try to preempt nasty smells in the refrigerator by buying one of those handy Fridge-N-Freezer baking soda boxes where you can simply tear off the sides and allow it to absorb odors. But in the past three months, it looks like marketing got a hold of the packaging, and suddenly baking soda only works for one month instead of three! Arm & Hammer say that they are "America's #1 trusted baking soda brand," but I'm not really feeling the trust anymore...

How very, very odd. Arm & Hammer says that their baking soda is 100% pure sodium bicarbonate, so we're assuming they haven't changed the recipe. They also haven't updated their FAQ. It still recommends changing the box every 3 months.

Blueprint for Financial Prosperity says:

I bought a can of Folgers coffee two days ago from Costco. When I compared it to my last can, also from Costco, I saw that the new one had 4 oz less of ground coffee. Ok, no big deal, but then I saw that the small can claimed to make more coffee than the larger can. This is the first time I've seen a company shrink their product but claim you get more. It's not a matter of coffee potency either, the preparation instructions are the same.

Now we're not math geniuses or anything here, so please do let us know if we're missing something or messed this up but, the preparation instructions are in tablespoons (volume) and the product is sold by weight... but the ingredients say that both cans contain 100% pure coffee. Has the density of coffee changed lately?

Hmm, let's see. ρ=m/V, and 1 tablespoon is 15 cm³... 360 6 oz cups...

By our calculations, the old density of Folgers coffee was .272 g/cm³ and the new density is .238 g/cm³. Did you guys get the same thing?

The shrink ray is getting more complicated all the time.

Folgers Coffee: Magic Shrink Ray Make More From Less [Blueprint For Financial Prosperity]

Click on the pictures to start an awesome gallery

Ed writes, "I shopped at the Walmart I regularly go to for, among other things, Gillette Mach 3 replacement blades. They have been available in 4, 8, and 12 packs for seemingly ever. The unit pricing for each was typically very close. 4 packs were about $8.25, 8 packs were $16.45, give or take.

Today, I discovered that the 4 pack is now a 5 pack. The insidious part is that the unit price per blade in the 4 pack went from about $2.06 in the 4 pack to $2.25 in the 5 pack, while the 8 pack unit price did not go up as much - $2.10 from $2.06. While I get that it is very common for bigger volume packs to have a lower unit price, this was not the case for this product. This had held true for at least 5 years.

The other interesting aspect of this is that P&G did the opposite of the "shrink ray." They grew/expanded the content and they sharply increased the price for that package. "

Brian writes,"I've been making my world (read: within my household) famous nachos for years now, and always with the same ingredients. The final part of cooking up the topping is a 15 oz. can of Hunts Tomato Sauce, a 4 oz. can of diced jalapenos (either Ortega or La Victoria), and an 8ish oz. can of diced ortega chiles. All of the items came in their normal sizes at their normal prices, but they are all far more watery than they have been in the past. I noticed it as I poured them into the pan, and now that they've been simmering for a good 20 minutes, it's far, far thinner than usual. I think there may be some companies watering down their ingredients rather than making the serving size smaller. Is this the grocery version of water-diluted gas?"

Got a hot grocery-shrink-ray tip? Send your pictures and stories to tips@consumerist.com.

Makers Kraft deny any trickery and claim they are merely "harmonising triangle weights across the range".

Cadbury spokesman Tony Bilsborough said: "The sizes of the bars goes up and down all the time to suit the market. Dairy Milk comes in all different shapes and sizes and there are a range of cost factors involved."

[Pringles] Spokesman Garry Stephenson said: "We launched a new Pringle with a better crunch texture, better flavour and a significant reduction in total fat and saturates."

Alex Beckett, from The Grocer magazine, says food firms are facing financially tough times and sympathised with their plight.

He said: "This isn't about ripping consumers off - the cost of making these products has rocketed because of more expensive food ingredients and energy costs. It's such a competitive marketplace with each manufacturer bitterly fighting with the next one.

"Downsizing portions and maintaining the original price isn't sneaky. It is a way of cushioning the blow to the consumer. Bumping prices up would hit people much harder.

"And besides, smaller portion sizes are healthier for consumers, especially at a time when obesity is so widespread. It won't do us any harm to be eating a little bit less."

Bollocks.

Our favourite snacks are being quietly downsized... so why's the price the same? [Daily Mirror] (Thanks to Deborah!)

Rising costs give groceries nip and tuck [Chicago Tribune]

Customers have asked why at least on Wegmans brand, we couldn’t keep size the same and just increase price (or better yet, keep size and price the same!). Wegmans brand suppliers often make products for other retailers (different recipes but same package size). It’s more costly for them to produce varying product sizes for different customers. So they often limit production to only one size; when costs rise sharply, it’s a new “smaller” container.

Well, that was refreshingly honest.

Up or Down? [Wegmans](Thanks, Aaron!)
(Photo: Tom Simpson )