
Food manufacturers have been discreetly modifying their recipes with less-expensive components, raising costs, reducing product sizes, and effectively providing customers with less value for their money in what industry experts have come to call “skimpflation.” This term stands side by side with “shrinkflation” and inflation on the stage of monetary discussions in grocery stores across Canada.
“Skimpflation transpires when a product undergoes a reformulation with more budget-friendly ingredients,” explained Edgar Dworsky, a renowned American consumer lawyer. Haltingly, the same value meets the consumer with less impact – a stealthy practice that has parallels in the toilet paper market. “Consumers often fail to notice the declining thickness as manufacturers persistently decrease the amount of paper pulp utilised in each roll,” explained Dworsky, who diligently observes such subtle shifts.
Skimpflation, its silent nature, and its complex interaction with laws make it a tough trick to catch. No explicit laws necessitate companies to disclose such alterations to consumers. Some voices in the market opine that practices like shrinkflation and skimpflation are strategic tools to sustain consumer prices in the face of inflation.
Businesses manipulate these factors finely to ensure their products maintain an affordable aspect for consumers, according to Jeff Doucette, general manager at shopping information app Field Agent Canada. A notable example of skimpflation already unfolding in Canada involves a decisive shift in the formulation of a renowned granola bar brand.
Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University, highlighted that the brand changed its primary constituent from costly “milk chocolate” to a more economical version dubbed “chocolatey coating,” now comprising palm oil as a primary ingredient.
“Cocoa prices are peaking at a historic 44-year high, compelling companies to source different chocolate-flavoured ingredients,” revealed Charlebois, who also heads the Agri-Food Analytics Lab. Thus, the trend of skimpflation seems to have firmly entangled itself in the webs of the food industry, affinity for bargaining acting as the primary catalyst in the background.