![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-25168-100x100.png\")
Oh thank God, finally, an easy pour pitcher. I haven't drunk orange juice in years due to the difficulties involved in the old packaging. Without getting into any specifics, I almost lost my left ring finger and burnt down half a warehouse in my old OJ-drinking days.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-3241-100x100.png\")
Well, with the old Difficult-Pour cap, the half the orange juice ended up on the floor! So even with 7% less juice, I'll be saving money! Thanks, Tropicana!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
The new Easy Pour Pitcher hates our freedom.
I don't think that she gets it. Since the cap is different, wouldn't it be considered a different product? Therefore there's isn't much to argue about, her frustration is understandable, but doesn't have any legal power. At least I think so.
Doesn't seem like anything to be angry about, its not a \"rip off\". just something to be aware of!
I always thought it would be neat to take pictures and measurements of popular foods, so we can document the slowly shrinking amount of cream in oreos etc etc as it happens
Hey guys, I know that nobody likes it when companies secretly decrease the size of their products, but we're going to have to learn to live with it. Unless you've been living in a cave recently, you've probably heard about something called \"inflation.\" Tropicana needs to make a profit, so as costs go up they can either a) raise their prices, or b) cut quantity. Which option they pick probably depends on demand elasticity or whatever; the point is, this time they chose 'b.'
I guess it would be nice if they put a big sign on their bottles saying: \"LOOK! YOU'RE NOW GETTING LESS ORANGE JUICE!\" But I just don't see that happening.
Inflation ain't fun, but it's a fact.
I'll admit I have been pwned by OJ every now and then. It always involved vodka though. It always does =(
What ever happened to being polite or nice to others? Sure, I understand the need to vent to companies... but I'm sure yelling at some poor guy whose job it is to answer the phone is really the best way to have the company understand your concerns. Like that guy really has anything to do with product packaging or marketing.
Sheesh, whatever happened to being polite to other people?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-257922-100x100.png\")
@ratnerstar: This is true, but I'd like to see how much money they spent on R & D for this new design, and how much it cost them to switch over to it, and exactly how long it will take them to recoup that loss for their precious 9% markup.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-68590-100x100.png\")
Tropicana is very sneaky. They know that if consumers were aware that the price of OJ went up, they would switch brands.
One way to save money is to mix OJ with water. Straight OJ has too much sugar in it.
@ratnerstar: You'd be surprised how understanding consumers can be when companies are transparent and just come out and say, \"Look, commodity prices are going through the roof, we have to raise our prices\", instead of the trying to bullshit the customers.
I'm not saying they have to advertise it (though again, a sincere, to-the-point press release can do wonders), but when a clearly non-stupid customer has a question, they need to be able to turn off the corporate-speak and give an honest response.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-10718-100x100.png\")
I should have known that they'd pull something like this when they touted their new packaging on the old packaging, like a new container was some sort of Holy OJ Grail being passed down from the heavens into my unworthy hands.
I buy the giant jugs of Tropicana almost exclusively, and getting one less glass out of it is going to annoy me to no end. Why can't a company just be honest and jack up the price 9%? Inflation is everywhere. They don't have to treat us like we're idiots.
Oh, and I had no trouble pouring out of the old packaging, thank you very much.
You think this is a rip-off? Ever seen Tropicana Light 'n Healthy at the store? It's basically watered down oj (42% juice content) with some splenda thrown in, and, at least at the place we shop, it's 20-30 cents more than regular oj.
wow that tropicana carton is badly photoshopped in. I mean... who owns stemware that's taller and wider than a half gallon of juice?
I buy generic frozen concentrate for $1.50 a can and add more water than the instructions indicate. PWNED!
ratnerstar noted:
Unless you've been living in a cave recently, you've probably heard about something called \"inflation.\" Tropicana needs to make a profit, so as costs go up they can either a) raise their prices, or b) cut quantity. Which option they pick probably depends on demand elasticity or whatever; the point is, this time they chose 'b.'
There is a difference between simply raising prices (which consumers can respond to) and lowering the quantity in what appears to be the same container (which consumers are generally unaware of).
The first is expected and not troubling; the second is sneaky at best and fraud at worst.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-396144-100x100.png\")
Maybe they figured that now that it's easier to pour my orange juice screwdrivers, and the fact that there's 7 ounces les, Tropicana can get more $$. I wonder if Greygoose will introduce their easier to pour bottles next.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-37033-100x100.png\")
Worse than that is they've started using Brazilian and/or Mexican orange juice. Used to be, IIRC, they were exclusively or almost exclusively US oranges.
This isn't an anti-imports thing...this is about US oranges being just BETTER. I mean Brazilian orange juice tastes like grapefruit juice, and Mexican tastes just..meh. The only reason ANYONE drinks Brazilian orange juice is that it is the cheapest in the world.
AFAIK, the only major brand left that's all US oranges is Florida's Natural.
I actually do that with all soft drinks. They just taste too sweet otherwise.
@tbbx: Ah, but fraud is out of the question because of the new easy to pour bottle! Sure is sneaky though. They distract you with the shiny new label indicating the \"improved\" bottle to distract you from the shrinking quantity.
This really isn't anything new, one time I was at the grocery store bc my mom had told me to get orange juice. I almost grabbed the carafe style bc it was prettier than the box, then I looked at the volume and realized the box had more OJ for the same price.
p.s. We need an edit and/or preview button.
The ever shrinking product disguised as some lame new & improved is dishonest. Just raise the price, don't lie to me.
I wonder if the e-z pour cap is designed for emaciated 80 year old female alcoholics with a Pall Mall hanging out of the corner of their mouth. It must be hell trying to make your third screwdriver between all that arthritis and Days of our Lives coming on the tube. That is the only demographic I can assume would need this new cap.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-358755-100x100.png\")
Schooner tuna, the tuna with a heart.
Truth in advertising always works in movies.
*Mr. Mom....starring Michael Keaton
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-268564-100x100.png\")
For real, Consumerist? Why does this rate mentioning? Let's look at the facts:
1) The \"Same design, less product\" story was old when you ran the one about Country Crock.
2) The company admitted to it over the phone and tried to explain the reasoning to this lady (who apparently just needed to vent that day because, come on, get over it, seriously)
3) The lady who submitted the story obviously lives under a rock, or in a magical world where knock-on price increases don't exist, based on her (frankly baffling) anger in this situation
4) I don't really need a #4, I'd just like to point out how ridiculous it is for her to expect the company to allow rising commodity costs to eat into their profit margin. BTW, I'd bet she thinks a gas tax holiday's a good idea. But now I'm just speculating.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-78160-100x100.png\")
Bingo.
You know, they might have a little more room to move on rising prices if they didn't pay to ship their \"juice\" fom FUCKING CENTRAL AMERICA.
True story. I was sitting in a favorite restaurant in Florida in 2005 and ordered some fresh Florida O.J.
Nothin doin. All they had was Tropicana. I told the waitress (politely) that if that was all they had,I would just have a diet coke and thanks anyway...In '06 went back to the same restaurant and they had LOTS of placards and signs announcing that due to popular demand,locally grown juice was back-for less money.
Moral of the story- Tropicana is a fraud. It doesn't matter what the size of the container is-it's just cheap juice from god knows where.
@Snarkysnake: Also, Tropicana Field isn't actually a field - it's actually a domed stadium with artificial turf!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-276854-100x100.png\")
For those who argue against the consumerist posting stories such as this. Isnt' this site about consumer alertness? Not just stories of out and out BS company policies and crappy customer service.
@spinachdip: Actually, I agree with you. I'd definitely prefer to patronize a company that was honest about price increases. But given how risk averse most corporations are, it seems unlikely that we will see a sudden outbreak of truth-telling.
@bohemian: I wonder if the e-z pour cap is designed for emaciated 80 year old female alcoholics with a Pall Mall hanging out of the corner of their mouth. It must be hell trying to make your third screwdriver between all that arthritis and Days of our Lives coming on the tube.
That is perhaps the best post I have ever read. I got one hell of a picture. I posted this on my myspace.
Anyone who buys a jug of juice should know they are spending more money on packaging and advertisement then they really are on the juice. I'm surprised she is really all that angry. Product amounts inflate and shrink all the time. I've been buying my own groceries for about ten years now and as a package reader (and an ingredients reader) this is something seen to me as normal. If I don't like it, I simply don't buy it.
Oooo, I hate sneaky package shrink tactics. If companies didn't do it so much I'd probably never have noticed. But since the practice is so pervasive, I definitely compare quantity as well as price when making my purchase decisions.
I also water my OJ down a bit; it's too sweet for my taste. Since I like my OJ ice-cold, I put some ice in it and let it melt down a bit before I drink it.
I just think that giant jugs are always nice.
@ratnerstar: Seriously, if I could travel back in time, the second thing I would do after betting on sports scores is going to the nation's top business schools and shooting all the professors who taught and wrote textbooks for the current generation of corporate execs. Their basic M.O. seems to be:
a) Don't innovate. It's much safer to just do whatever the industry leader did last year.
b) Ignore the value of anything that can't be easily quantified
c) Squeeze every penny out of the customer, even if it means alienating them forever
d) Overemphasize volume, revenue, and market share at the expense of profits and liquidity
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-117360-100x100.png\")
@TechnoDestructo: Glad to see that I'm not the only one noticing the change.
From what my own taste buds tell me, Brazillian oranges used in juices tend to be on the bitter side. And apparantly, it's perennially bitter, unlike American oranges, which bitterness is dependent on the time of year.
I also think Tropicana recently started to water down the juice a little bit more too. I recall that the consistency used to be just a tad bit thicker. Now, it just looks like orange colored water.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-74749-100x100.png\")
The title made me believe somehow, that the company would dilute even more the orange juice with water...
Floridians have a great option: Bags of fresh locally grown oranges go for $5 around here. They're just too goddamn lazy to take advantage of it.
Orange juice is great fresh squeezed. I live in Wisconsin, but my grandparents ship me boxes of oranges so I can juice them myself!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-14466-100x100.png\")
@thesabre:
Tell me about it. Sometimes when I walk down the street people yell at me, \"What the hell is wrong with you Hawaiians?!\"
I don't know. I really don't.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-387761-100x100.png\")
@thesabre: Sheesh, whatever happened to being polite to other people?
So if you caught a pickpocket trying to take your wallet, you would
\"be polite\" and wouldn't punch his lights out?
Why are sheep like you even on this site?
Alternately, they could bite the bullet and do what is good for the country: Take a tiny hit on profit.
As it stands, one of the reasons juice and dairy products are so expensive is because of the waste involved. Stores and producers throw out massive amounts of product because they drastically overproduce. As prices increase, demand (of course) decreases, which causes more waste - increasing the price.
If they'd produce less, we'd all win. Excepting, of course, the second- and third-world orange growers.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-149187-100x100.png\")
An old-style orange juice carton killed my brother.
Tropicana used to have 64 oz cartons. I'm assuming all that's changing is the big bottles, from 96 to 89 oz. (I still don't get why people buy the bottle for 2x the price of a carton, when 2 cartons have more OJ...)
Anyway, Tropicana also owns the Simply Orange brand. Which has 59 oz bottles with an easy pour neck for the same price as the Tropicana carton, for the same price. Bottled at the same factory, from the same OJ source....
/rant
@P_Smith: Why are tools like you even alive? How is a company raising its prices/shrinking its product even remotely like a pickpocket? It's more like, if you caught a police man giving you a completely legit parking ticket and being shocked, even after you voluntarily choose to ignore the handicap parking blue and white paint.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-90186-100x100.png\")
@ratnerstar: I agree 100%, it sucks, but either you lose some product (9% seems like alot though) or they raise the price. Which would you prefer? Most people don't like seeing prices going up on their products or they'll switch to a competitor, so they figure you'll be alot less likely to notice a few less oz's, and maybe distract you with a pretty new pour spout.
Inflation isn't 9%....BOHICA
BTW... Tropicana is owned by Quaker (PepsiCo)
Simply Orange is Minute Maid... (Coca Cola)
Definitely not the same company.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-246276-100x100.png\")
@aristan: Not only that but it's in the foreground and the shot's got a pretty narrow depth of field -- the mutant midget-OJ carton should be blurrier than it is. It's blocking a plate with (melon slices?) on it that's clearly blurred.
Or perhaps the family is just a pair of giants? \"WE'LL GRIND YOUR BONES TO MAKE OUR TINY ORANGE JUICE CARTONS.\"
meh, I generally don't care about decreasing sizes of stuff. I usually look at or do a rough calculation of per unit price when I buy things anyways. It's really amazing how much more you can get for your buck when you look at things that way.
I only find it annoying when they do it for products that I don't generally buy an alternate brand of. I think this applies almost entirely to ice cream. Edy's is the only brand I really like, Breyer's is acceptable and will get it if it's cheap. All other brands are either too expensive almost all the time (Ben & Jerry's), or just crap (Turkey Hill). So I'm not very happy Edy's and Breyers have shrunk their sizes.
ottawa_guy cleared you up - Trop is owned by PepsiCo, Simply Orange by Coca-Cola.
Not to mention, Simply Orange and Minute Maid juices definitely aren't from the same sources, either. I work in R&D for MM/Simply. MM is from concentrate, and Simply is not from concentrate.
EECB Pepsico who owns Tropicana.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-303808-100x100.png\")
NOOOOOOO!! NOT MY TROPICANA 'LOTS OF PULP' ORANGE JUICE!!
Breakfast will never be the same without the option of chugging 96oz. of O.J. if I feel like having a party...
Everything reminds me of granddad from The Boondocks.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-158781-100x100.png\")
@tbbx: I second. The problem isn't shrinking products. The problem is shrink products that are made to look like they didn't shrink.
What is to stop chip manufacturers to put saw dust in their products to cut costs?
I liken this to the analogy that we're all frogs in a slowly boiling pot. We really don't notice it getting warmer, until it's too late.
@P_Smith:
Yes, because being robbed by a criminal is EXACTLY the same as voluntarily walking into a store and selecting which product to purchase. Completely comparable...
And here's a tidbit of information from you. Calling other people \"sheep\" is not exactly an original thought. Perhaps you should learn to express your disagreement with your big boy words and not with some fifth grade insult.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-390449-100x100.png\")
Do the labels on OJ say where the oranges come from because I don't think I ever noticed, though I don't think I ever thought about considering location either.
Any idea where Simply OJ Oranges come from?
@ratnerstar: I agree with you on this. This is a fact that has been happening on pretty much everything. There is basically 2 thing that they can do, either raise the price, or reduce what they are giving us. I personally would prefer they raise the price instead of getting less but they are banking on the fact that consumers will not notice that they are getting less. Deceiving but it's happening all around.
@thesaber: Agree with on this too. To many times people will call and take their frustration out on lowly people who has no ability to correct anything. As for \"young man who didn't sound like he really gave a damn that I was annoyed,\" its probably because he doesn't.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-107196-100x100.png\")
@bnosach: Orange juice is Orange Juice. The only thing different is the container. The product is the SAME.
Rip-off! I hate it when companies do that crap!
That's why I buy the $3.99 store brand gallon jug of orange juice.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-93244-100x100.png\")
Apparently \"pure squeezing\" is what they're doing to your wallet, as well. I'm with those who say they should have come clean and just raised the prices. Heck, they don't even have to tell anyone about it (which means money saved not retooling their bottles and marketing the shit out of this \"easier pour\" bottle nonesense).
I've loved Tropicana since it was only available in the Florida and the fact that you can now buy it in the North West Territories is a double-edged sword, obviously.
I'd love to see more retailers push the $/oz. aspect more and make this a non-issue and potentially reduce the number of $x.99 products in one go.
Of course I always calculate beforehand anyway so whatever.
@azntg:
I've avoided Brazilian orange juice since the 90s.
But year after year it just gets more and more prevalent.
FUCK YOU, GLOBALIZATION!
Just to point out a few things:
1. I was NOT yelling at the customer rep. The conversation was frustrating because he clearly wanted to be part of what was going on behind him, and had no real interest in answering questions from me.
2. I don't think it's wrong to expect actual customer service from a customer service rep.
3. I understand inflation. I know prices go up. Just raise them, already, and quit trying to sneak them by me by telling me you've got new packaging or whatever.
4. Thanks for the tip on the Brazilian oranges. I will be trying the other brand mentioned here.
5. And, last, No, I don't think a gas holiday is a good idea. Stop making assumptions.
@lindalee:
Asking him \"what the hell that meant\" or \"start my comment by writing 'Rip-off!'\" aren't really yelling, per se... but still extremely rude. What did you expect him to do? Say \"I will make a new container for you myself and ship it to you right away\"? He was honest by saying he would pass your comments to marketing, as it was likely their decision to change the packaging. You're the one being a total bitch about it.
No, it's not wrong to expect customer service from a CSR. But there was no customer service that he could provide for you that moment, other than taking your comments and passing them to the appropriate people.
What kind of service did you expect? A free jug of OJ because you aren't happy? Get over it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-50003-100x100.png\")
Okay, so companies who sell you a product want to make a profit. Yes?
Unfortunately, the economy has taken a steamy pile. Yes, that stinks. And yes, you should not have signed up for that 2nd mortgage.
Given the current money situation, these corporations are reducing size on their product. Makes perfect sense to me. In fact, given the Euro to Dollar changes, you're actually getting a damn good deal. Okay, the money you make hasn't gone up since the Dollar tanked; that's an issue to take up with your employer.
If Tropicana had a higher price than the competition, you'd do business with the competition. You wouldn't even think about it. Every company that sells food employs these tactics. Yet you expect this ONE company to stick it's neck out and lose business.
If you want things to get back to the way they were, don't default on your bank loans. Pay for the shit you buy instead of whipping out the VISA. Become an intelligent consumer instead of a cheapskate looking for a steal.
Comment on New Tropicana! Now With Less Orange Juice! Kinda reminds me of the \"half gallon\" ice cream cartons that are now onlybeing filled to 56 ounces.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-396646-100x100.png\")
I can see the marketing round table now.
Egghead 1: We must raise prices with the economy being all noncooperative and such!
Egghead 2: But consumers will notice.
Egghead 1: Not if we give them a bit less than before
Egghead 2: But consumers will notice.
Egghead 1: Not if we augment our packaging with new features.. such as an easy grip handle or something... OR, I've got it.. a new spout! Joe Dillweed will look at that new spout with awe and not notice he's paying the same price for 7% less product.
Egghead 2: You're a genius. I smell a huge bonus for you.
This is how it works folks... flood those customer service hot lines. You'll get a coupon for $1 off your next Tropicana purchase and your comment will end up as a statistic in Egghead #2's report. Everyone wins.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-99271-100x100.png\")
Linda, I love you. The tone of this email was priceless. To those who would want to deter Consumerist from harping on the shrink ray or other such topics, I would respond that the world needs more Lindas, more Consumerists, and that this arena in which we check corporate chicanery requires this sort of drum-beating to be effective. That said, let's just make sure we have our facts straight (cf. the soda man story, the Best Buy credit scam misfire, etc.) before we head off to the castle with pitchforks and torches.
It surprises me that these corporate twits haven't decided to try and justify their shrinking packaging and portions the way other twits have with \"100 calorie packs\" and the like: by relating it to an initiative to lower our collective obesity. Were I a mercenary, duplicitous marketing jerk, that's certainly the spin I'd throw on this. At least it has some semblance of logic to it, unlike the ridiculous explanation given by the bozo at Tropicana.
(When I use \"corporate\" here, I mean it simply as descriptive, and not in the pejorative \"Corporate\" way that far-Left lunatics see any large business entity as an agent of Evil and as a factory for their wildest fantasy conspiracies. I love corporations, just don't like when they blatantly jerk their customers around.)
I sent this via their website:
I wish you would not shrink your juice containers. Yes, I noticed, and I find it rather deceitful. And frankly, Im out a glass of tasty juice.
And I got this reply:
_____________________________________________________________________
RE: Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice , REF.# 026496893A
[P1h3r1e3d13]:
Thanks for your email about our new SNAP Cap packaging. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.
Our decision to improve our bottle was not recent. Based upon feedback from families where children pour their own juice, we began working on this new package concept more than two years ago. The idea was to have an innovative cap that easily and securely sealed just by pressing on it, and one that easily poured without \"glugging,\" the primary reason for spilling.
The downsizing from 96 to 89 ounces wasn't a decision we took lightly. As you are aware, oil costs have skyrocketed. Oil is used to make plastic bottles, fuel our factories, and ship our juice across the country in refrigerated trains and trucks. We had the choice to either increase prices or to downsize the bottle. We chose to downsize the bottle but add value through the innovation of the SNAP cap and new bottle, which consumers were seeking.
Although you may not agree with our decision, we hope you can appreciate that they were made in the best interest of our consumers and shareholders. Please be assured that feedback from consumers, such as yourself, does influence decisions, and your comments have been shared with our marketing group. Again, thanks for your input and sharing your concerns.
Please accept the coupons we've sent via US Mail; they should arrive in about a week.
xxxxx
Tropicana Consumer Response
_____________________________________________________________________
So I replied back, thanking them for the information and coupons, and especially for their better-than-normal customer service.
I agree with Linda 100%. I could have bought another brand for the same price, and had 96 ounces. To top it off, I can't get on the Tropicana website because I don't have the up-to-date software they think I need to see their products. How about listing their email address so folks like me can complain directly without all the crap.
If you post this, please do not use my email address,
Use Allstamp instead
Thanks,
Martin
The container is better to get that last drop of OJ out of, but the coloring is bland and not as appealing as the big orange with straw. My problem is, I can't find the Lite brand anymore(recommended by Weight Watchers) and the last three/1 Gal. purchases taste like over ripe on the verge of rotten tasting oranges. So what happen to the best tasting orange juice? Disappointed in Mich. and really missing my OJ!
I just opened the pull tab and almost sliced my finger off on the hard jagged edges surrounding the cap. I also heard a loud \"snap\" and I am worried that the little, hard pieces of plastic went into the juice from the edges.
Why didn't the idiots and R and D at Tropicana make it a thin silver foil you pull, instead of the dangerous sharp hard plastic?
Oh wait... I figured it out. Tropicana is based in Retardida... I mean Florida.
Lawsuit anyone?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-7378-100x100.png\")
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-14643-100x100.png\")
That couple must really love Vitamin C. That or their bottle of vodka is hidden behind the Tropicana carton.
Linda rocks. Why do we need an Easy Pour Pitcher? I didn't realize drinking orange juice was so difficult in the past.