Did you notice that there are more “New and Improved” products every day?
What does “New and Improved” mean exactly?
Is the product now better than before?
How has the product changed?
Did the ingredients change?
Did the packaging change?
If you are asking yourself any of these questions you are not alone. Everday we are confronted by advertising that such and such product is a “New and Improved” version of the previous one. It works better, it tastes better, it cleans better and so forth. But is that really true?
For a while now everyone has noticed that products are getting smaller and smaller, and the price is going up. Sometimes the claim is that the product is so much improved that you need less. Really? Other times they hide the fact that there is less in the package, as they just reduced the amount of the product, but left the same packaging.
For sure you have heard of “Shrinkflation”, right?
Pasta is one of those products I noticed the change. A package of Red Lentil pasta used to hold 8.5oz and now it only holds 8 oz. The price went from $2.89 to $3.39.
Other products are tissue boxes – there used to be 100 pieces in a box of tissue. Now there are 75 pieces in the box – but they are so much better made that you need less, according to their advertising – really? Or in the case of Kleenex the small box used to have 65 pieces and now has 60 pieces.
Even trash bags were victims of “Shrinkflation”. Last year I used to buy the Mega Pack of Hefty kitchen trash bags and there used to be 90 bags in it – well suddenly there were only 80 bags in it. The only “positive” was that the price stayed the same. and did not go up as well.
I also buy a lot of cat food and I am noticing the “Shrinkflation” a lot in cat food pouches – the same pouch used to have 100g in it and when you check now it only has 85g in it, but for the same price or even increased price.
I don’t know what manufacturers are thinking. Do they really believe that nobody is going to notice the change? Or are they so certain that people need that product and will buy it anyways? I am now much more aware of these changes than I was a few years ago. I check the unit price instead of the sticker price and see if I can find a comparable product that has the right unit to price match.
For other ‘New and Improved’ products the packages and the product are shrinking, but the price is going up. It is not so obvious at the store, as they remove the original larger packages, but if you are like me and have a well-stocked pantry you will notice it immediately if you compare packages. The one product that sticks out for me is Crest toothpaste. I still have a couple boxes from the 3 pack of the toothpaste in the pantry, but decided to buy some more, just in case. When the three-pack arrived, I thought something was off but could not put my finger on it immediately. So, I went to the pantry and put the toothpaste package next to the old ones, I saw that they were smaller. First, I thought that maybe they just saved on the box, but then I took it out and there it was – a smaller tube of toothpaste. They reduced the toothpaste from 4.1oz to 3.8oz.
So, checking the unit price is going to be the only way to figure out how much you get for your money.
But “Shrinkflation” is not the only thing that has changed products. The other “New and Improved” way is changing ingredients. And that I do not like at all. I don’t know if it has to do with supply chain problems, maybe they cannot get certain ingredients, so they have to change the formula, or they just want to use cheaper ingredients. Anything is possible and they won’t tell us. And it is nothing new – it started a few years ago and people were complaining, but with minimal success.
One of the products was the Fancy Feast Tuna Appetizer for my kitty. She absolutely adored that appetizer, as it only contained Tongol tuna and nothing else. She could not get enough of that. Yes, it was not cheap, but worth it, as this was the only ‘wet’ food she would eat. We bought that on auto ship for months and then suddenly she refused to eat it. I could not understand why suddenly from one day to the next she would not touch it. So, I looked closer and saw that they changed from Appetizer to Entree and added ingredients. It was the improved formula to make it a ‘food’ instead of a ‘treat’. I tried several more times, but she just walked away.
When I went on the Fancy Feast website and read the comments, I saw that I was not alone. There were pages full of people complaining about the change, but no answer from Fancy Feast anywhere.
Unfortunately, I had to look for something else for my cat.
Last year then, as I was looking for a treat for my outside cats, especially the one that did not feel well – and I knew fish was the only thing to get his appetite moving, I bought one of these Fancy Feast Tuna Entrees at least I thought that’s what they were. To my surprise the label said Appetizer again. Yeah! But not so fast, they changed the Tongol to Skipjack and added a scallop on top. My outside cats loved it, but mine is not a fan of that fish and certainly not the scallop.
The other day I checked again and yes, Tongol Tuna Appetizer is back. Sometimes complaining about a product change does help and thank you Fancy Feast for actually listening to your customers.
Another product that has changed is Scrubbing Bubbles. I used to love the foaming spray, as it really cleaned the bathtub and sink. And the blue foam that turns white when it is clean was great, especially for going down the sink and overflow of the sink. Then when cleaning supplies got scarce, they only had Scrubbing Bubbles in a spray bottle that supposedly also is foaming, with you guessed it, ‘New and Improved’ formula that is cleaning so much better…… Nope, it does not. It cleans kind of the same but does not reach in certain places, as there is no foam to speak of. The smell is ok, I can live with that.
I did try the Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer Bathroom Cleaner, but the smell is very strong and not like it used to be. I cannot use it when I clean the whole bathroom, as the different cleaning products all have different smells and that will run you out of the house.
Another product I used to love is Tilex Daily Shower cleaner. It was very convenient to just spray down your tiles after the shower and it had a pleasant smell that was not overpowering. For a while you were not able to buy it anywhere, but then it came back. New label and I guess improved formula. Now the smell is stronger and though it supposedly does not contain bleach, it is not the same as it was before. It works, but I find it leaves streaks and I have to wipe it down after I spray it.
If you use a product and it suddenly is out of stock everywhere that usually is an indicator that it will come back with “New and Improved” formula. It happened to many products and will continue to happen. My best guess is cheaper ingredients, or they are not able to get those ingredients to produce the products. And cheaper ingredients mean more profit for the company. So, we the consumers, pay more for a product that might, or might not be better.
Do you have a favorite product that suddenly changed to “New and Improved”? Let me know in the comments.