Shoppers have again fallen victim to shrinkflation as Mars has slimmed down Galaxy chocolate bars, while supermarkets have raised prices.
Galaxy Smooth Milk bars have been cut by 10g to 100g and now cost £1.25 in Tesco, in comparison to 99p for 110g in July 2022, The Telegraph reported.
While retailers are responsible for setting prices in stores, it is understood that Galaxy owner Mars increased its price to supermarkets in October 2022.
However, the price of sugar hit its peak in over a decade this year as food manufacturers and retailers battled double-digit inflation.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
A Galaxy spokeswoman told the newspaper: “We have been actively trying to find ways to absorb the rising costs of raw materials and operations, as we know the increase in the cost of living has impacted both consumers and businesses across the UK.
“Unfortunately, the growing pressures mean that more needs to be done. Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary for shoppers to still be able to enjoy their favourite Galaxy treats without compromising on quality or taste.”
Galaxy chocolate is not the first product to be reduced in size at the same time retailers have increased prices.
Last year, Unilever shrunk the size of its Magnum multipack 110ml sticks to 100ml and Hellmann’s mayonnaise jars were slimmed down from 800g to 600g.
McVitie’s cut Digestives from 400g to 360g, and multi-packs of Penguin and Club biscuits were reduced from eight bars to seven.
This comes as Carrefour has started identifying the products involved with labels stating: ‘This product has seen its weight decrease and the price charged by our supplier increase’.