Tinier teddies at same price
ARNOTT’S has shrunk the size of some popular biscuit snack packs, giving shoppers less bite for their buck.
Multipacks of original BBQ and Pizza Shapes and Tiny Teddies have been crunched from 10 bags to eight, a 20 per cent drop, but the retail price has not budged from $3.99.
That works out at 50c per individual pack, compared with 40c before.
Mini choc chip cookies are down from eight individual packs to seven, and the recommended retail price is still $3.99.
Arnott’s said while some 10 packs had moved to eight packs, larger packs of 12 or 15 had also been introduced.
The nation’s biggest biscuit maker blamed soaring energy costs for its reduced packs, which it had switched to instead of increasing the wholesale price.
“As with all businesses, from time to time it is necessary for us to review the prices of our products. Recent increases in energy costs mean costs across our Australian bakeries are higher,” spokeswoman Nicky Thomson said.
She said smaller packs suited smaller households, but larger options had also been brought in for bigger families, and those worked out at the same RRP per individual pack as previously.
She said manufacturers recommend retail prices, but indi- vidual retailers ultimately decided shelf price.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said keeping the price the same while reducing product amount was “an all too common marketing trick”.
“It’s particularly concerning as industry is trying to remove displaying weight from the front of processed product packets,” he said.
Angry shoppers have taken to social media to complain of a “rip-off”.
“Seriously Arnotts! It’s not like things aren’t hard enough with this economy at the moment,” Karen Ellis posted on Facebook. “Tiny Teddy’s are a great lunch box idea but not anymore. What a complete rip-off!”
Sonia Peterson commented: “Feeding four boys is expensive enough and now they have made it worse”.
Other groceries to be downsized in recent years include Pringles chips, Magnum ice creams, Freddo frogs, Caramello Koalas and toilet paper.