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Thousands of shoppers could be missing out on hundreds of grams worth of confectionery – literally. Shrinkflation is just one of the latest issues to hit the pockets of shoppers as hundreds of products have been hit with a decrease in weight and an increase of price. The so-called worst of the products have been revealed – from Quality Street to instant coffee. Recently, butter brand Kerrygold faced fury from shoppers after it slashed its weight to 200grams down from 250 – but did not change their price in supermarkets like Asda and Waitrose. Consumer watchdog Which? has released its latest statistics on shrinkflation – with some surprising results. According to the group, some of the worst offenders are brands such as Nescafe, Cadbury and Nestle. Even medicinal brands aren't safe, with Gaviscon shrinking 100ml. Despite this, the Sainsbury’s price remains at a whopping £14. Adding to this, Aquafresh's Complete Care Original Toothpaste has risen from £1.30 to £2 in supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Ocado despite having waned from 100ml to 75ml. Those hoping for a quiet breakfast might also be stung with shrinkflation, with Sainsbury's Scottish Oats decreasing in size from 1kg to 500g while the price increased from £1.25 to £2.10 – a 236% rise per 100g. Hoping for a hot coffee alongside? Unfortunately Nescafe's Original Instant Coffee has also been reduced from a 200g jar to 190g at Tesco, Morrisons and Asda where it sells for £7 – which means a rise of 5% per 100g. KitKat's Two-Finger Milk Chocolate Bar multipacks dropped from 21 bars to 18 at a price rise of 53% in Ocado. Previously, the supermarket giant priced the chocolate at £3.60, but are now selling them for £5.50. With Christmas right around the corner, many will be looking to buy the iconic tub of Quality Street. However, many will notice a harsh increase in price compared to last year – with less to show for it. Quality Street tubs have been reduced from 600g to 550g - though Morrisons have hiked the price from £6 to £7. Often used as a financial gauge for austerity, Cadbury's multipacks of Freddo and Fudge bars both went from five bars to four at Morrisons, Ocado and Tesco. However, the price of £1.40 didn't change. This equals a 25% price increase per bar. A spokesperson for Mondelez International, which makes Cadbury products, told the Mail: "Costs like energy and transport, also remain high. This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges. "As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our Cadbury Fudge and Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo multipacks so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect". Nestle said in a statement: "As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. To maintain the same high quality and delicious taste that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the weight or size of some of our products. Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers". KitKat Food and Drink Federation said: "Cocoa prices rose sharply last year, reaching a 45-year high. Alongside other rising costs – such as national insurance increases and a new packaging tax – manufacturers are paying nearly 40 per cent more for ingredients and energy than they were in January 2020. "As a result, in some cases food manufacturers will have had to make changes to products to continue offering shoppers the food and drink they love at reasonable price points." For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
