grocery shrink ray

media whoring

Ben Popken On NBC Nightly News This Thursday

Watch NBC Nightly News on Thursday, 12/04/08, for a snippet of yours truly, Ben Popken, laying down some tough talk on the good 'ol Grocery Shrink Ray, THE STORY THAT NEVER DIES!!! MUAHAHA!

4:24 PM on Tue Dec 2 2008
By Ben Popken
1,697 views, 22 comments

grocery shrink ray

"Holistic Margin Management": What General Mills Calls Grocery Shrink Ray

Guess what they call the Grocery Shrink Ray at General Mills? "Holistic Margin Management." I thinks that's also what they call it in 1984. Another interesting fact from a StarTribune article looking at shrinking packages: customers are more likely to notice a change in the height rather than the width of a box. But does anyone really care? More »

2:39 PM on Tue Dec 2 2008
By Ben Popken
4,492 views, 31 comments

Most discussed HighontheHill: I am generally keenly aware of this assholery and reward the offending manufacturer by finding an alternative. There are very more »

grocery shrink ray

Gorton's Wants To Know If You Noticed Anything Fishy About Their Fish Sticks

Reader Dave was doing an online survey about Gorton's Fish Sticks packaging — and it looks like something fishy is going on... More »

1:08 PM on Mon Sep 29 2008
By Meg Marco
42,877 views, 68 comments

grocery shrink ray

34 Victims Of The Grocery Shrink Ray

The story may be well and established already, but that hasn't stopped manufacturers from their food product and package shrink-a-dink rampage. Here's 34 more victims of The Grocery Shrink Ray spotted by the all-volunteer Consumerist tipster army, 25 of which are viewable using advanced pop-up slideshow technology...

Note: The photo gallery was malfunctioning yesterday, so now that everything is fixed, I'm moving the post back up the page. More »

9:00 AM on Wed Sep 17 2008
By Ben Popken
40,766 views, 58 comments

Most discussed AbsoluteIrrelevance: Nilla Wafers is another one! I was going to take a picture, but the prices weren't listed at Safeway. Regular more »

Video: The History Of Maxwell House Shrinkage

This video shows how a variety of food products have shrunk over the years, while the price remains the same, and the tricks manufacturers use so we don't notice the differences. She stacks up the coffee cans as they go from 16 oz to 11 oz. At one point, Maxwell House says that while the size is going down, the potency is going up. "We've fluffed the beans!" they say. So then why do the instructions on the side of the can for the amount of coffee you use to make a perfect cup stay the same? Though we don't really mourn for lost Maxwell House value, the example is illustrative of standard industry tactics, even on food that doesn't taste like crap.

Food Amounts Shrink Over Years, But Containers Are Same Size [WTAE] (Thanks to Kevin!)

10:20 AM on Wed Sep 10 2008
By Ben Popken
6,626 views, 40 comments

Most discussed bcsus83: video worked for me...I'm using Firefox 3.0.1...I didn't have to install anything. The lady in the video reminds me of my more »

badvertising

Get Ready For An Onslaught Of Food Advertising

Foodmakers are planning to bombard you with advertising to keep you from ditching their carefully groomed brands for some blechy cheapo generics. Pay no attention as they try to re-brand their products as cheap and affordable. Here's a small preview of what to expect... More »

8:00 PM on Sun Sep 7 2008
By Carey
15,766 views, 98 comments

Most discussed zigziggityzoo: So they're downsizing their product, and spending the savings on the biggest food-centric ad blitz evar? Thanks a lot for taking more »

restaurants

Want That Hot Restaurant Reservation? Ask With A European Accent

The parasitic Grocery Shrink Ray has infected restaurants, shrinking portions and spurring substitutions as restaurateurs struggle to pry revenue from cash-strapped customers. Desperate to fill seats by any means, restaurants are borrowing from the airlines and are starting to overbook reservations for peak times. They're also giving preference to the new big spenders: Europeans. More »

1:25 PM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
11,560 views, 57 comments

Most discussed Shadowfire: Europeans generally don't tip for crap, though. Just throwing that out there. ;) more »

grocery suck ray

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Now Deodorizes For 30 Days Instead Of 3 Months

Reader Kirin says he's suspicious of Arm & Hammer's assertion that the same 1lb of baking soda will only deodorize for 30 days when it used to work for 3 months. More »

12:52 PM on Mon Aug 18 2008
By Meg Marco
13,231 views, 68 comments

grocery shrink ray

Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Folgers, Makes More Cups From Less Coffee?

Here's a fun little mystery for you guys. How can taking away 4 oz of coffee produce more cups of coffee? We've been thinking about it ever since Blueprint for Financial Prosperity sent us this photo the other day, and we just can't figure it out. Could it be magic? Some strange new property of the Grocery Shrink Ray? More »

1:45 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By Meg Marco
8,738 views, 60 comments

Latest by JarvisAmphinomus: Did anyone else notice that it specifies a RANGE for the number of cups of coffee? 335-380 for the new, more »

grocery shrink ray

15 Victims Of The Grocery Shrink Ray

The Grocery Shrink Ray continues its miniature spree across the supermarket aisles of America. Here's 14 more victims that have surfaced in the past week, as spotted by our watchful bands of deputized Consumerist reader-investigators... More »

2:59 PM on Fri Aug 1 2008
By Ben Popken
25,524 views, 57 comments

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