DinSide regularly writes about products that change size almost imperceptibly, almost exclusively to the smaller size.
This time, it’s Rema 1000 medium-strength taco sauce from its R brand, which has been reduced. In recent years, the weight of the cups was 290 grams, but now 60 grams have disappeared without a trace.
Big difference in price
– 230 grams is the original size of taco sauce. But due to the war in Ukraine, the supplier was no longer able to deliver 230 grams, so we had to change to 290 grams. “Now we’ve changed,” says Tori Hoyle, director of innovation and private brands at DinSide.
Contrary to what we have become accustomed to seeing ourselves in recent years, it is not only the size that has shrunk. The price has also been reduced accordingly, Huili confirms.
Today, the price of a glass is NOK 7.20, which equates to NOK 31.30 per kilo. This is actually cheaper than the last time we checked, when it was NOK 34.14 per kilo.
A better basis for comparison
One group that has reason to rejoice at the change are those who check prices. Since the Rema 1000’s taco sauce jar is larger than competitors’ jars, it’s not directly comparable in terms of price – here we have to use a calculator to find out which sauce is cheaper.
The same applies to consumers, and now it is easier to know which glass is the cheapest.
Our pricing tests now show that bulk products, like medium-strength taco sauce, are mostly priced the same across lower-priced chains, but it’s still worth taking with you. Because the volume change is not only medium sauce, but also very strong and light.
These are products that are not very popular, or do not undergo price tests, so this is often where we find the biggest differences, as a taco seasoning price test in August showed.
Price wars have strange effects on price, but that’s why the Omo color, for example, is so much cheaper than the Omo Ultra White color, and you get twice the amount of Maldon salt for just one kroner extra.
Inflation does not reduce
DinSide has seen many people react to the volume on social media, but this time there is no reason to shout “deflation”!
Customers beware
Shrinkage is a word used to describe the phenomenon when products shrink in size but have the same or higher price. DinSide has written extensively about shrinkage, which Last year it was named Word of the Year.
There’s still good reason to be cautious if you notice that the packaging has changed, or the packaging looks a little smaller.
Another phenomenon to be aware of is “cutting,” where the product looks the same, but the quality is lower, without this being reflected in the price.
Examples of this include replacing extra virgin olive oil with regular olive oil or vegetable oil, or changing the ratio between ingredients, so that there are fewer expensive ingredients.
Have you seen examples of this? Send us an email.
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