Popular biscuit Jaffa Cakes is the latest treat to shrink – but supermarkets fail to lower price
McVitie’s has cut the number of biscuits in a standard pack from 12 to 10
JAFFA Cake packs have been shrunk by a sixth, without a fall in price.
In the latest case of vanishing treats, McVitie’s has cut the biccies from 12 to 10.
A standard box now contains 122g instead of 146.4g.
But The Sun found stores selling them for the same price, hitting shoppers with a sneaky rise equivalent to 17 per cent.
Builder Simon Akroyd, 52, of Bedford, spotted the ploy when he gave workers 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.”
Makers have used the trick, called “shrinkflation”, on 2,500 grocery products in five years.
The Sun recently revealed that top Haribo favourites and Walnut Whips had got smaller.
McVitie’s admitted “adjusting” Jaffa Cake packs but said it also cut its recommended price.
But it added: “Pricing is at the sole discretion of retailers.”
A McVitie’s spokesman said: “We have taken the decision to adjust the pack size of our McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes products.
“There is no change in the size, shape or weight of individual cakes in the McVitie’s Jaffa Cake range.”
He added that McVitie’s has cut the recommended retail price too, from £1.15 to 99p - but added: “Pricing ultimately remains at the sole discretion of retailers.”
The Sun found stores sold the new packs for the same price as the old ones.
For example, Ocado has the new packs for £1.19, the same price as the old ones. Meanwhile, some shops recently sold the bigger packs for £1 and has the smaller ones at the same price.
BANG OUT OF ORDER How food is SHRINKING in supermarkets while the price stays the same
Stores that are still clearing stock of older packs, such as Co-Op are selling them for £1.
Even if stores did follow the RRP, the cost per biscuit would increase from 9.58p to 9.9p.
