Groceries
UK Shrinkflation Tracker
The products getting smaller while the price stays the same — and how much more you're really paying per gram. Browse the biggest offenders, then report what you've spotted.
Biggest shrinkers league table
Well-known UK products ranked by how much smaller they got — with the effective price rise once you adjust for the missing grams. This is the shareable bit.
| # | Product | Brand | Old → New | % smaller | Eff. price rise |
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Reported examples compiled from public reporting — illustrative; verify figures before relying on them. "Effective price rise" assumes the pack price held while the size fell, so price per unit rose. Tap a column toggle to re-sort.
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Report shrinkflation you've spotted
Noticed a pack get smaller? Tell us. Your report is added to your list below and helps build the UK shrinkflation database. Old and new size must be in the same unit.
Your reports
| Product | Brand | Old → New | % smaller | Actions |
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Stored privately in this browser. Submitting also sends an anonymous data point to help build the public database (it no-ops gracefully if offline).
What shrinkflation is — and why your shopping feels smaller
Shrinkflation is the quiet trick of making a product smaller while keeping the price the same. The bar of chocolate loses a couple of chunks, the multipack drops from six to five, the toilet roll has fewer sheets — but the sticker on the shelf barely moves. You pay what you always did and walk away with less, which means the real price, measured per gram or per sheet, has gone up. It is inflation you can't see at the till, and across a weekly shop it adds up to a meaningful amount of money.
How to spot it: read the unit price
The single most useful habit is to ignore the big pack price and look at the small unit price printed on the shelf label — the figure showing price per 100g, per litre, per 100 sheets or per item. UK supermarkets are required to display it. If a pack costs the same as it did last month but the price per 100g has jumped, the product has shrunk. Unit pricing also lets you compare honestly across brands and pack sizes: the "bigger" box is not always cheaper per gram, and a supermarket own-label often beats the big name once you adjust for size. Train your eye on that one number and most shrinkflation becomes obvious.
Why brands do it
When the cost of ingredients, energy, packaging and labour rises, a manufacturer has two blunt options: put the price up, or put less in the pack. Behavioural studies consistently show that shoppers react far more strongly to a visible price increase than to a slightly lighter pack — the price acts as a mental anchor, while a few missing grams slip under the radar. So shrinking the product is frequently judged the safer commercial move. It is not a glitch or an accident; it is a deliberate pricing strategy that leans on the fact that we anchor to price and rarely re-check weight.
Is it legal?
Yes. There is no law requiring a price to drop when a pack shrinks, and brands are free to change their sizes whenever they like. What the rules do require is honesty on the label: the new weight or count must be stated accurately on the pack, and shelf-edge unit pricing must be shown. In other words, the information you need to catch shrinkflation is legally there — it is just in the small print rather than the headline. That is exactly why a tracker like this one, and the habit of checking the unit price, matters.
Who tracks it
Shrinkflation is well documented. The consumer group Which? has repeatedly named and shamed products that shrank without a matching price cut, and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has formally studied it, analysing grocery labels over time and finding numerous lines that lost weight while their price held or rose. Their work confirms what shoppers feel: shrinkflation is widespread across chocolate, crisps, biscuits and household staples, and it has been a feature of UK grocery aisles for years rather than a one-off pandemic quirk. This tracker compiles the kind of well-known examples those bodies and the press have highlighted.
How the figures here work
For each product we take the old pack size and the new pack size and calculate two things. First, the percentage smaller: the size you've lost as a share of the original, so a biscuit pack going from 400g to 360g is 40g lighter, or 10% smaller. Second, the effective price rise: assuming the pack price held, the price per gram has gone up, and the rise is the old size divided by the new size, minus one. That same 400g→360g pack means you now pay for 360g what you used to pay for 400g — an effective rise of about 11.1% per gram. The reason the price rise is always a little larger than the size cut is simple arithmetic: losing a tenth of the contents spreads the same cost over fewer grams.
An honest caveat
The figures in the league table are reported examples compiled from public reporting — they are illustrative and approximate, pack sizes and prices vary by retailer and over time, and some products have changed size more than once. Treat the table as a guide to the scale of shrinkflation rather than a precise, current price list, and verify any specific figure before you rely on it. The point is the pattern, not the decimal places. And because money is involved: this page is information to help you shop smarter, not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is shrinkflation?
Shrinkflation is when a manufacturer reduces the size or quantity of a product while keeping the price the same (or close to it). You pay the same at the till but get less in the pack, so the real price per gram, per sheet or per item goes up. It is a hidden price rise: the headline price looks stable while the true cost climbs.
How can I spot shrinkflation myself?
Look at the unit price on the shelf label — the small print that shows price per 100g, per litre or per item. By law most UK supermarkets must display it. If the pack price hasn't changed but the price per 100g has gone up, the product has shrunk. Comparing that unit price between brands and over time is the single most reliable way to catch shrinkflation.
Is shrinkflation legal in the UK?
Yes. Manufacturers are free to change pack sizes, and there is no rule that the price must fall when the size does. The main legal requirement is accurate labelling — the new weight or count must be shown correctly on the pack, and shelf-edge unit pricing must be displayed. So shrinkflation is legal, but the unit price is the tool that lets you see through it.
Why do brands shrink products instead of raising the price?
Behavioural research shows shoppers notice a higher price far more than a slightly smaller pack. Faced with rising costs for ingredients, energy, packaging and labour, manufacturers often judge that quietly removing a few grams protects sales better than an obvious price rise. The headline price acts as an anchor, so shrinking the pack is the path of least resistance.
Where does this tracker's data come from?
The seed list is compiled from widely reported, public examples of UK shrinkflation covered by consumer groups, the press and shoppers. Bodies such as Which? and the Office for National Statistics have tracked shrinkflation, with the ONS finding numerous grocery lines shrinking over recent years. Our figures are illustrative and approximate — verify them before relying on them — and the list grows as readers report what they spot.
What can I do about shrinkflation?
Check the unit price rather than the pack price, compare it against supermarket own-label alternatives (which are often cheaper per gram), and buy the size that genuinely costs least per unit rather than assuming the bigger pack wins. Reporting examples you spot also helps build a public record that keeps the practice visible.