Shrinkflation hits everyday staples, piling more pressure on households
Toothpaste, coffee and even heartburn medicine are among the latest products quietly shrinking in size while shoppers pay the same price, piling more pressure on household grocery budgets,Consumer watchdog Which? found a range of new examples of shrinkflation as brands cut back on quantity and quality in an effort to reduce their own costs,One of the worst instances was Aquafresh complete care original toothpaste, which went from £1,30 for 100ml to £2 for 75ml at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Ocado – a 105% increase per 100ml,Haleon Great Britain and Ireland, which owns the Aquafresh brand, told the Guardian: “We understand that people across the UK are facing pressure on their finances.
Prices go up and down for a variety of reasons, and we always work hard for people to receive the highest quality products at the lowest price so that the whole family can take care of their teeth,”Gaviscon heartburn and indigestion liquid shrank from 600ml to 500ml, with Sainsbury’s keeping the price at £14 – equivalent to a 20% increase per 100ml,They did not respond to a request for comment,Nescafé original instant coffee was cut from 200g to 190g at Tesco, Morrisons and Asda – about a 5% rise per 100g,A Nestlé spokesperson said: “Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of coffee, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products … Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers.
”Chocolate has also been hit by rising cocoa prices, with Quality Street tubs reduced from 600g to 550g and prices at Morrisons increasing from £6 to £7 – a 27% rise per 100g.Club and Penguin biscuits, both made by McVitie’s, can no longer be described as chocolate biscuits, as they now contain more palm oil and shea oil than cocoa, a change first reported by trade journal The Grocer.Which? said any changes, whether to product size or recipe, should be made clear so that shoppers can make informed choices.Reena Sewraz, retail editor at the watchdog, said: “Households are already under immense financial pressure with food bills inching up and the expense of Christmas looming on the horizon … Supermarkets must be more upfront about their prices so that it’s easy to see what the best value is.“This includes ensuring that their unit pricing is prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online to help customers easily compare costs across different brands and sizes of packaging; that way shoppers can be more confident they’re getting the best value.
”Hopes that the pressure on households may be easing came from news that UK shop price inflation fell to 1% in October from 1.4% in September, according to the British Retail Consortium, helped by a drop in sugar prices and early Black Friday discounts on electrical and beauty goods.The drop was led by packaged and tinned foods, where inflation eased to 2.9% in October from 4.2% the previous month.
Non-food prices fell by 0,4%, compared to the previous month’s 0,1% decrease, according to the latest shop price monitor from the BRC and research firm NIQ,These shifts offset a rise in fresh food inflation, which increased to 4,3% from 4.
1% as prices for beef, poultry and fruit climbed in response to higher domestic production costs.Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Overall shop price inflation slowed in October, driven by fierce competition among retailers and widespread discounting.While food inflation remains high, especially for fresh food where prices continued to rise, it eased for ambient goods.“Easing global sugar prices helped to bring down prices of chocolate and confectionery, a treat for those preparing Halloween parties.Beyond food, discounts came early to electricals and health and beauty, as retailers started promotions ahead of Black Friday month.
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Cheltenham festival switch to Saturday a gamble not worth taking
For the fourth year running, Cheltenham saw an increased attendance at its season-opening Showcase meeting over the weekend, as 31,125 racegoers made their way to the home of jumps racing. The total was a record since what was previously a midweek meeting moved to a Friday/Saturday slot in 2007, while the 21,113 crowd on Saturday was also a record for the second day of the meeting.It was a very positive start, in other words, to Guy Lavender’s first full season as the chief executive at Cheltenham, and the man tasked with turning around the sudden – and still largely unexplained – slump in attendance at the festival meeting over the last three years.Lavender, who joined Jockey Club Racecourses after a seven-year stint as chief executive of the MCC, spent much of Friday and Saturday touring the enclosures to get feedback from spectators on the changes to the customer experience that he has implemented so far, such as the removal of most restrictions on the areas where racegoers can consume alcohol and (small) reductions in the price of a pint.And he was also, perhaps, sounding out early reactions to an idea which was initially floated in the Racing Post last week, that the festival meeting should switch from its current Tuesday-to-Friday slot to a Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule instead
‘I’m making it work’: Lando Norris confident he is finally getting to grips with his McLaren
Lando Norris has said he is finally confident handling his McLaren car after a dominant victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix that moved him to the top of the world championship standings with four races remaining.The British driver won at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with a superb drive from pole to flag. With his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finishing only fifth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third, the Briton now leads Piastri by one point and Verstappen by 36. Piastri had held the title lead since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but Norris has moved to the front as the championship enters its final run-in.He has struggled for much of the season, particularly in qualifying, not enjoying the feel of the grip from the front axle as much as he would like while Piastri enjoyed a strong run of results
England look to dodge lightning strike after familiar crumble in opening ODI
At the time and taken in isolation England’s opening one-day international against New Zealand on Sunday seemed wild, chaotic, bizarre. As they batted at the start of the game wickets fell to the first ball, the ninth, the 12th, and – except for the period when the brilliant Harry Brook was joined at the crease by Jamie Overton – fairly regularly thereafter. Beyond that pair, the rest of the team scored 25.But to anyone who witnessed the start of their last series in the format, against South Africa at Headingley last month – when they lost the toss, were put in to bat and rolled for 131 – it was a very familiar kind of freakishness. Indeed in 12 bilateral ODI series since their 2022 T20 World Cup win they have won the first game twice and lost it nine times (one was abandoned) – and in all but one of those defeats they batted first and posted a score that was easily chased down, losing by six wickets, eight wickets, four, seven, eight, four, seven and most recently four
The old man and the mirror: Aaron Rodgers meets the quarterback he used to be
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Crunch time nears for Australia as selectors try to fit Ashes batting puzzle pieces together | Martin Pegan
The Great Australian Bat Off has returned for a brand new season with fresh faces and forgotten favourites bidding to join the cast for the Ashes series opener. In a major subplot, captain Pat Cummins is officially out of the first Test and is all but certain to be replaced by understudy Scott Boland, while the final auditions to claim a spot in the squad will be staged across the Sheffield Shield matches that begin on Tuesday as much as the T20 series against India.The main storyline will be familiar to seasoned fans as the Australia selectors largely repeat last year’s search for an opener to partner Usman Khawaja. But the return to form of Marnus Labuschagne, and injury concerns for Cameron Green and Beau Webster, are plot twists that have thrown up more uncertainty over which six batters will be included for the Perth Test.Green was pulled from the ODI series against India due to side soreness in what chair of selectors George Bailey said was a “conservative” call, but doubts remain over his ability to bowl early in the Ashes
‘I could have killed them’: Lawson’s fury after narrowly missing hitting marshals
Liam Lawson issued a damning broadside after he narrowly missed hitting two marshals on track at the Mexico City Grand Prix, warning that he could have killed them and branding it dangerous and unacceptable.In the race which was won in dominant form by McLaren’s Lando Norris, the Racing Bulls driver had started in 15th place but took damage on the opening lap and made an immediate pit stop.When he emerged from the pit lane he was confronted with two marshals running across the track having been clearing debris from the opening corners directly in front of the New Zealander.“Mate. Oh my god, are you kidding me? Did you just see that?” he said to his engineer on team radio
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