Sneaky price increases for groceries

05 May 2015 - 10:24
By Wendy Knowler

How does a manufacturer maintain its profit margin on a bottle of tomato sauce, a slab of chocolate or a bar of soap without putting up the price? By going to the considerable expense of designing a pack that contains less product but looks pretty much the same size as the old one.This phenomenon has a name, shrinkflation, and statisticians can no longer ignore it, given its effect on food prices.

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