“Shrinkflation” has struck the confectionary aisle once more, prompting fans of Jaffa Cakes to express their dismay at the downsizing of their favourite snack.
The number of cakes in a packet of Jaffa Cakes has been slashed from 12 to 10. But, while maker’s McVitie’s says it has also cut the recommended retail price to reflect the change, “that does not appear to have been recognised by supermarkets,” says Yahoo Finance.
“Ocado, for example, is selling a 10 box for £1.19, while Asda is selling twin pack box of 20 for £2.19,” says the website. Boxes of 12 were also typically sold for £1.19.
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A McVitie’s spokesperson confirmed to website that Jaffa Cakes packets have been reduced but said: “Pricing ultimately remains at the sole discretion of retailers.”
Jaffa Cake lovers on Twitter called the move “sacrilege”, while one declared it a sad day for the UK population.
The decision has had an immediate impact, with Bedford builder Simon Akroyd, telling The Sun he faced a backlash from his workforce when he went to give them their “usual choccy perk” and there weren’t enough to go round.
He said: “They thought I was trying to dupe them, and weren’t happy.”
Describing it as a “Jaffa quake”, the BBC reports that McVitie’s is something of a serial offender, having this year “reduced the size of its dark chocolate digestive biscuits from 332g to 300g”.
The practice of “shrinkflation” as it's become known, first hit the headlines in November 2016 when Mondelez, the makers of Toblerone, said it had increased the spacing between the distinctive chunks and reduced the weight of the bar by almost 10% due to rising ingredient costs.
In the same month, Mars also pointed to rising costs for its decision to shrink the size of Maltesers packets by 15%.
In July, the Office for National Statistics said as many as 2,529 products had shrunk in size over the past five years, but were being sold for the same price. Many manufacturers have blamed the UK's vote to leave the EU, saying the poor value of sterling against the euro has hit the price of imported raw ingredients.
