The strategy that some supermarkets and manufacturers use to make you believe that you are buying the same thing as always, but they are offering you less and of lower quality.
Inflation does not stop rising, and filling the shopping basket is up to three times more expensive than a year ago, and to this we must add that some essential foods such as olive oil They are at prohibitive prices in all supermarkets.
This has caused many manufacturers to choose different strategies to continue selling their products at the same price as always, but for example reducing the quantity or even changing the ingredients, making the product of lower quality than when you bought it before.
To the latter, that is, to the strategy of the supermarkets and manufacturers to remove or reduce certain ingredients in your favorite products, this is what is known in English as Skimpflation.
As The Guardian points out, this strategy that most supermarkets and manufacturers are carrying out is basically “a silent degradation of the ingredients of some products.”
As ingredients such as olive oil skyrocket in price, supermarkets and manufacturers have chosen to change recipes without telling users, reducing the size of some products, but also reducing the presence of certain Ingredients more expensive.
Some examples of ingredient reduction
For example, when it comes to olive oil, some manufacturers have reduced their percentage amount in some products, so you are spending the same money as before but buying a lower quality product.
They also talk about kitchen paper, which has even led some manufacturers to minimally reduce their size, something that goes unnoticed in the eyes of consumers, but can save manufacturers a lot.
And worst of all, most products do not tell users that the amount of ingredients has been reduced or that the packaging is smaller than before.
In some cases it is even more striking, because the price has increased and at the same time less product is offered to the consumer.
However, according to comments Sue Daviesfood policy director at consumer group Which?: “While shoppers may be deterred from buying a product if they see the package getting smaller or prices rising, they are less likely to realize that manufacturers and supermarkets quietly change the ingredients of products.”
“If you’re concerned about the ingredients in your favorite items, be sure to carefully check the label when shopping and compare it to other brands of the same product to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible,” she clarifies.
In this way, if you have that strange feeling that perhaps what you are buying now is of less quality than before, it is not your imagination, it is quite likely that it is happening.
