Shrinking packs, hidden costs: How ‘shrinkflation’ is cutting your monthly rations short

Consumers across India are facing a silent squeeze on their monthly kitchen budgets as companies increasingly resort to shrinkflation—reducing product quantities while keeping prices unchanged. The trend, which has intensified over the past two months, is being linked to rising input costs, particularly due to global tensions impacting oil and gas supplies.

This is quietly leading to a situation where, for many households, the monthly ration is no longer lasting the full month.

What is shrinkflation?

Shrinkflation is defined as a hidden form of inflation where companies shrink down the size/weight/quantity of goods and sell them at the same retail price, effectively offering customers less value for the same price paid. The method operates in the food, beverage and household goods sectors to support profit maintenance when production expenses rise without implementing direct price increases.

Prices up, quantities down

In March, several companies revised prices of essential goods such as edible oils, ghee, and spices. By April, while prices largely remained stable on the surface, the real impact emerged through reduced pack sizes.

Staples like mustard oil, refined oil, and ghee have seen price increases of up to Rs 30 per kilogram. At the same time, newer packaging reveals a drop in quantity—effectively raising the cost per gram for consumers.

Along with this, many earlier discounts and promotional offers that consumers regularly benefited from have also quietly disappeared from shelves.

Same price, less product

A noticeable pattern has emerged where products from the same brand, with different packaging dates, carry identical price tags but offer reduced weight. Additionally, discounts and promotional offers that were once common have quietly disappeared.

Current desi ghee packets are now sold in 930 ml and 840 ml sizes instead of the previous 1 kg and 980 ml standard. The downsizing trend has become a common practice which multiple brands now follow.

The 'shrinked packaging' pattern has become a standard practice which all major FMCG companies now follow.

Impact across various FMCG categories

The effect is not limited to cooking essentials. Even common household necessities like soap, shampoo, detergent, and deodorant are experiencing reductions in their amounts.

Even popular goods like coffee are not spared; packets which previously had a weight of 100 grams now come in at only 90 grams.

The irony is sharp: where people once consumed coffee to manage weight, now even the coffee itself has 'lost weight.'

Similarly, packaged food items for children have shrunk, with standard 500-gram packs now commonly reduced to around 400 grams.

Basic daily meals like dal, rice, and traditional dishes are becoming relatively more expensive to manage within the same monthly budget.

Hidden in plain sight

Among the factors that make such trends possible are flexible regulations that enable companies to emphasise the 'price per gram' rather than promote smaller pack sizes. While technically compliant, it usually escapes consumer notice, making it more difficult to monitor the actual rise in prices.

Changing consumption patterns

Items aligned with health and lifestyle trends are also being affected. Products such as vermicelli (sevai) are now available in packs of 400 grams instead of 500 grams, and 800 grams rather than 1 kilogram, thus decreasing the amount without cutting the price proportionately.

Even within this group of goods, there is an indirect reduction in the amount of product available to the consumer.

While inflation might seem under control, shrinkflation is gradually chipping away at the purchasing power. Due to smaller amounts in a variety of daily-use products, households find that their monthly supplies don’t last as long as before, leading many buyers to reassess their spending and consumption habits.