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JPropaganda
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I don't care how much they shrink the container, I'm remarkably loyal to Skippy superchunk peanut butter.

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3 replies
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theblackdog
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@JPropaganda: I used to be, until I read the ingredients and realized they're still using hydrogenated oils :-/

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Moosehawk
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@JPropaganda: Ew I can't eat Skippy. It leaves a bad aftertaste and the texture isn't very pleasant. I love my JIF. I still go through an 18oz jar about every 3 weeks myself.

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Alessar
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Moosehawk: I've recently discovered Crema. Ingredients: Peanuts. Seriously, they just take peanuts and pulverize them until they're little more than peanut-molecules. It's so good, and so not-laden-with-salt.

Speaking of shrink ray, I bought some generic disposable/reusable food storage containers and the package now has 4 not 5. And the \"val-u\" brand I got is so cheaply made the lids fit poorly and there's no 8 oz lines on the side of the container. That's $1.69 I won't be wasting again.

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Jupichan
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I've seen adverts for Reynold's Wrap foil that brag about how they give you a \"whole person's\" length of foil for free. Admittedly, I've not paid attention to their products for quite some time, as I'm not in charge of purchasing such commodities in my house. But I can't help but wonder if they made their rolls smaller some months ago and just decided to give it back, and call it a present to the consumer.

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9 replies
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lannister80
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Jupichan: How much is that in Libraries of Congress?

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Blueskylaw
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Jupichan:


They say you get 5 square feet for free or a whole persons length.


The average height of a man 20 years or older in the U.S. is 5' 9.4\", the average height of a woman in the U.S. 20 years or older is 5' 3.8\".


Assuming you take the average of those two you get
5' 6.6\". Also assuming that the width of the foil is 12 inches, saying that you get a whole persons length for free is false, unless of course Reynold's gets to pick the person.

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Jupichan
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Blueskylaw:

Yeah, I failed to see how five feet was a whole person. Most people I know are above 5'3\". Hell, I'm like 5'9\".

Give me six feet in addition to the standard roll, and I'll stop yelling at the TV when I see that advert.

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rockasocky
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Jupichan: As a five foot tall whole person, I object to your comment. Prepare to taste my tiny fists of fury!

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Jupichan
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@rockasocky:

Mwahaha! I shall merely push my hand against your forehead!

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dpeters11
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Jupichan: And what does \"whole person\" mean? A newborn is a whole person, so is Yao Ming. Big difference.

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nforcer
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Jupichan: Hey, a \"whole person's\" length can be pretty useful. I mean, look what I was able to do to my roommate with a a whole roll (presumably a \"whole person's\" length) of Stretch-Tite:

[img140.imageshack.us]

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Shoelace
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Jupichan: I'd guess they're giving nothing back but that their \"whole person\" just got smaller. Don't need much foil to cover an infant.

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SabreDC
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Shoelace: \"Don't need much foil to cover an infant.\"

You'd be surprised how much foil it actually takes...

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Daveinva
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@SabreDC: Not if you microwave them, you just cover with a paper towel.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Daveinva: in fact, manufacturers specifically recommend NOT putting foil in the microwave. but saran wrap is usually ok

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Etoiles
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Jupichan: A person's length of foil would be a dreadful shrink ray. Foil rolls should be 50' or 75' or 200'... and even an extraordinarily tall whole person is only 7'5\". ;)

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Elvisisdead
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Maybe we can market a line of bumper stickers that says \"I don't abuse illegal substances\" and \"Children fed 3x per day\". It really is sad that this is now a point of pride.

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3 replies
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jenjen
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Elvisisdead: How about a promotion for a business where they put pennies on the ground with signs saying it's safe to bend over in our business because we won't f you up the a.

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lockdog
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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I refuse to buy ice cream in anything less than a true half gallon. Fortunately for me, that means I have no choice but to buy ultra-delicious Blue Bell.

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4 replies
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Smashville
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@lockdog: Blue Bell loses me with their radio commercials.

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Mapmaker
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@lockdog: Safeway's Select house-brand of ice cream had (and may still - I'll look next time I'm there) stickers on the freezer case noting that they were still 1.75 quarts when everyone else made the switch down to 1.5. They still are, IIRC, which is nice. It's not a true half-gallon, but it's still more ice cream. NOM

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nybiker
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@lockdog: I am with you, but I reduced to having to buy Ben & Jerry's pints as I don't know of where to get that Blue Bell ice cream here in NYC.

Mind you, I am not complaining about having to buy B & J's.

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nybiker
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@nybiker: Ok, I am going to retype that first sentence.

I am with you, but I am reduced to having to buy Ben & Jerry's pints as I don't know where to get that Blue Bell ice cream here in NYC.

There, I fixed it.

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Geblah187
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@nybiker: You've got to come a ways down south, it's made in Texas and not really distributed well up north at all.

+1 for delicious blue bell :)

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Smashville
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Peter Pan Honey Roast FTW

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3 replies
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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: Oooh.. that stuff is goood..


I also miss the Jif chocolate flavor.. they don't seem to make it anymore.

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HFC
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: Damn right! It was a real punch in the gut when it was removed from shelves for salmonella a while back. It's definitely my favorite, though... followed by Jif Extra Crunchy.

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Smashville
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@HFC: It was totally worth the salmonella. :)

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Segador
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Also! We're still made with up to 60% peanut material!

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1 replies
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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Segador: only if you're a peanut butter \"spread\"
the regular peanut butters don't say how much peanut content at all. [yes, i was confused by this one day at target while holding a camera. there's a whole photoset dedicated to it on there]
[www.flickr.com]

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thesadtomato
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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You know what? Good for them!

I much prefer a straight up price increase on a brand, rather than realize I'm getting less and think a lot of people do, too. It's pathetic that that's a selling point, but there you have it.

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PsiCop
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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It is sad that this is a point of pride, but given the prevalence of the \"shrink ray,\" they have every reason to do it.

FWIW I recall some yogurt commercials from some years back bragging how their containers were a full 8 oz (IIRC) while the competition had reduced to 6 oz (again, IIRC).

And here's my proposed \"icon\" for this. Not that it's all that great, but it's something, and I whipped it up in a couple minutes:

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4 replies
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Smashville
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@PsiCop: Make that triangle pink and you have the new WalMart logo.

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DerangedRoleModel
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@PsiCop: It was Columbo that did that. And guess what...they're down to 6 oz.

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nybiker
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@DerangedRoleModel: Yep, and therefore I buy no yogurt anymore. Funny thing, though, is that Yoplait was 6 ounces from day one (I recall them back in 1980) and of course dannon was 8, which was what I bought.

I wonder if Yoplait touts the fact that they haven't shrunk (assuming they are still at 6 ounces).

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SatisfriedCrustomer
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@nybiker: The 6-ounce brands are now 5.3 ounces, by the way. But ShopRite, Ah, Blessed ShopRite brand yogurt, still comes in last century's 8-ounce size and I have to support that. It's all I will buy.

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PsiCop
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@DerangedRoleModel: Thanks, I don't eat yogurt myself (dairy intolerance) so I don't pay too much attention to details like that. I just remember it at the time for the same reason this story is noteworthy ... the message that \"We didn't shrink!\" is not very common.

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nnj
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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This rings a bell. I believe some boxes of Ronzoni pasta went from 16oz. to 12oz. with no price change.

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1 replies
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smiling1809
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@nnj: You mean they didn't raise the price for giving less? My grocery bill has gone up significantly over the past two years and I always end up with less food. Costs more, get less--how appealing.

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Cybrczch
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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The last few times I bought Kraft salad dressings, they had a \"Still 16 oz\" label on them. Since they had just re-designed the bottles, I think this was there way of saying \"we didn't do a shrink ray on them, just a redesign\"

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1 replies
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Cybrczch
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Cybrczch: \"their way\" - apparently coffee had not finished kicking in then

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VOIDMunashii
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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It's better than Jif's original proposal, \"Ceritified H1N1 Free!\"

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3 replies
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TVarmy
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@VOIDMunashii: Actually, that leads the consumer to suspect the other brands have H1N1. The problem is that once you say it doesn't have H1N1, it will get H1N1.

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PsiCop
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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@VOIDMunashii: I thought it was salmonella that had been the problem with peanuts ... oh well.

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greenland
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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So...this packaging totally worked on me. Peanut butter brands in my local store are much the same price at this ounce size, so it essentially came down to Jif calling out Skippy for their bullshit portion downsizing. I would usually buy Skippy, but I've switched.

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SpaceToast
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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*shopping list*

-Peanut butter (Jif)

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shepd
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Choosy webmaster choose jif.

That is all.

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Oranges w/ Cheese hates what Christmas has become
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
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Meh, they used to be 24oz. So they have shrunk.

Its the same gimmick, instead of saying \"NEW LOOK! NOW 12oz!\" making you think they've made it larger (you'd think they wouldn't advertise the other way) when it used to be 16oz. or something.

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jarhead906
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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JIF = God Tier peanut butter

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riroon
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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We are two of a kind here. Full half gallons of BlueBell for me (bonus points for their sugar-free stuff that tastes like teh legit stuff).


Also, yes I always buy jif now for their refusal to succumb to the 'industry-standard' packaging-size shrink.

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morlo
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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The 16.3oz shrink-rayed size is just an insult, as if food is so valuable that it needs to be priced in tenths of ounces

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2 replies
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Blueskylaw
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@morlo:


It's packaged in that amount because the bean counters did a study where they compared the savings of a smaller container to how many people would stop buying it and how it would affect their profit margins.
Then they came up with the size that fit the parameters they needed.


Simple yet dastardly.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@Blueskylaw: but the money to pay for the study could have saved them how much of their profit?

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eh_remraf
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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I still like my homemade peanut butter better. Made in the Magic Bullet of course.

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justagigilo85
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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Blue Bunny ice cream still advertises, \"LOOK 1.75QT\" Though it hasn't shrunk, it's damn near $7. And it tastes like crap. I'll pass.

And you guys got it ALL WRONG. Skippy Natural is where it's at.

I'm down to four jars left... I need a sale, damnit. I have a barrage of 75 cent coupons that need to be used.

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4 replies
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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@justagigilo85: you know, i just noticed in this picture i have that you can see how skippy natural executed the grocery shrink ray

[www.flickr.com]

if you look at the larger sized pic, the natural jif is also still 18 oz. the jars are the same height, but skippy has contoured their jar in just a bit in the middle

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justagigilo85
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@catastrophegirl: I still go with skippy. It's a bit sweeter than the jif.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@justagigilo85: ah, when i could still eat peanut butter i went for the smucker's because it wasn't as sweet. but that's why there are so many different brands - tastes differ

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Smashville
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@justagigilo85: Down to 4 jars? Good lord...someone loves the peanut butter.


Well...I do too...I never know why I don't buy more...

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ludwigk
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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TJ's peanutbutter FTW. It tastes great, and its so cheap I'm suspicious of it. But, then again, I'm so cheap that I keep buying it.

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jparadise
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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@ludwigk:

Hey, I was in TJs the other day, and is it just me or have they stopped carrying all branded products except some candy bars? No more Annies, it's all house-brand?

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henrygates
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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Maybe they just removed the salmonella.

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Cant_stop_the_rock
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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Presumably one of their competitors reduced the amount of peanut butter in their jars, and JIF is just calling attention to the fact that their package is now larger. I don't think they deserve criticism for that. They're competing with the grocery shrink ray by bragging about NOT shrinking their product, and that's good for consumers.

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Gravitational Eddy
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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\"Nobody better be dissin' my peanut butter yall! Ima fixin to go up yo head. Fo real.\"


That pretty much sums up the response from the man on the street around here.
JIF has been a locally produced item for many, many years.
I can't tell you how good it smells at 7AM in the morning and the roasters over on Winchester Rd have been cooking all night.
Mmmmmmmmmmm peanuts.

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Gracegottcha
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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JIFF - the best peanut butter around. I've eaten it all my life, and look where it's gotten me!

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Ratty
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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I'll stick with my cheap Whole Foods peanut butter that's just peanuts and salt. That's it. Jif is only Ok when I want really fakey tasting peanut butter, and i can never finish the whole jar.

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H3ion
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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Was there any change in the price when Jif didn't reduce the size? I eat Skippy Superchunk anyway but I'm curious.

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LastError
November 13, 2009 4:36 PM
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This is all Walmart's fault. Put down the pitchforks, okay. This one actually IS Walmart's fault.

They are constantly pushing their suppliers to offer better value or special deals to the consumer (and also to Walmart of course) and one of the ways that Walmart really likes are the special \"bonus!!!\" ounces packages that say \"Now 32 FULL OUNCES!!!\" in big type, or giant bags of chips that proudly tell you how many pounds they are, or special two-for-one containers in shrink wrap, etc. Walmart is in love with bonus. Walk down any aisle and fully 20% of packages will be some kind of a bonus.

Brands that have not gone for the freebie offers are put under tremendous pressure to offer something more, with not very subtle hints that bad things will happen to their shelf slots if they don't. Walmart also has reams of data showing that people actually do buy more of the products with all the GIANT TYPE BONUS!!! labeling. It works. It moves product. When you are Walmart and you make a few pennies on each one, you want to move a lot of products.

Faced with competitive pressure and Walmart breathing down their necks, some brands resort to this silly version of the bonus type, where they proclaim \"Still 18 ounces!!!\" just like other brands brag about having more in the can.

Because you, the Walmart shopper, are more likely to buy it this way. And Walmart knows exactly what sells and what doesn't. When they go to Jif and demand a bragging jar of peanut butter, Jif says sure and how many sir? What they PROBABLY did was ask for actual bonus ounces. I mean, Walmart has Great Value peanut butter and Jif wouldn't like to see more shelf space for GV, right? But instead of free ounces, Jif managed to negotiate it down to just a bragging label designed to enhance the perceived value.

And so it goes on every shelf in the store.

The sad side effect is that many of the suppliers who do business with Walmart are pushed to the limits to offer lots and lots of free and \"bonus\" ounces of product in order to be able to compete with all the other brands on Walmart's shelves. This forces the suppliers to take less profit, cut corners and quality and generally squeezes them horribly with the threat that Walmart will drop them if they don't -and Walmart ALWAYS has at least one or two suppliers for every item begging to get in, waiting for existing suppliers to lose their spot. Walmart is ruthless about this.

When the stressed suppliers squeak and beg for mercy, Walmart merely tells them to send manufacturing to China or Mexico or find creative ways to do it even cheaper and accept even less profit.

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