Kellogg’s is resorting to ‘deceptive’ ways to distract shoppers from its shrink-flation tactics.
A photo shared on Reddit shows how the brand has made its family-sized Special K box bigger, while actually reducing the amount of cereal inside.
Shrinkflation is when products shrink in size or quantity while the price remains the same or even increases.
“As a consumer you would think to get the ‘bigger’ box, but then you realize it’s 1.3 oz less,” one Reddit user wrote alongside the photo. “Oh, and of course it’s the same price!”
The smaller box contains 16.9 oz, as the photo shows, while the larger box contains 15.6 oz.
A photo circulating on the social media site Reddit shows how the brand has increased the Special K family size but actually reduced the number of ounces of cereal in the box
Although the exact price of the 16.9 oz box is not shown in the photo, the 15.6 oz box costs $5.49 at the unknown store.
Outraged consumers responded to the Reddit thread, accusing Kellogg’s of “walking the walk as one of the worst offenders in the world.”
“They’re just laughing at us now,” one user wrote.
‘I can imagine the board meetings. “They will fall for it,” she added.
“So nasty, on many levels,” wrote another.
A frustrated consumer also responded: ‘That makes me so angry! It’s deliberately misleading!’
Another photo on Reddit also shows a similar size change at Kellogg’s Raisin Bran – with the larger package containing 27.1 oz and the smaller box containing 34.2 oz.
“Shame on you, Mr. Kellogg,” the user captioned the photo.
It comes after new findings released earlier this month exposed the true extent of ‘shrinkflation’ in the US, and how many Americans are being shortchanged.
Of nearly 100 everyday products analyzed by Credit boomit found that a third had shrunk in the past five years.
In the meantime, costs had remained the same or increased.
“People are already frustrated that things cost more,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
‘Shrinkage inflation only makes things worse. It all boils down to the fact that many Americans feel pressured every month to pay for the basic things they can’t live without.”
Another photo on Reddit also shows a similar size change in Kellogg’s Raisin Bran
Of the nearly 100 everyday products analyzed by LendingTree, a third were found to have shrunk in the past five years
A LendingTree report has exposed the true extent of US ‘shrinkflation’, and how many Americans are being shortchanged
Household paper products, including toilet paper and paper towels, saw the largest change in size over the period, with the number of sheets falling by 60 percent, according to the study.
After household paper products, breakfast products were the most likely to shrink, LendingTree found.
LendingTree researchers compared Walmart prices and product sizes from 2019 and 2020 through August and September 2024 to find out which items had changed the most.
In addition to the majority decreasing in size, it also turned out that only two items had decreased in price during the time period.
Schulz said companies prefer downsizing products to raising prices because they know customers don’t like it when this happens.
“Shrinkage is a sneaky way around that,” he said.
‘Instead of raising the price of something, companies make the product smaller while the price remains the same.
‘If it’s done smartly, customers might not even notice. The problem is that if they do, it leaves a bad taste in the customer’s mouth because it feels so deceptive.”
It comes after two Democratic lawmakers earlier this month accused Coca Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills of favoring consumers through shrinkflation.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Madeleine Dean wrote a letter to the companies’ CEOs, accusing them of subtly reducing the amount of cereal and soft drinks sold in stores.
“Unfortunately, this price gouging is a widespread problem, with corporate profits driving more than half of inflation,” they said.