01 Oct 2024 Double shock for Mini Magnum fans

Unilever’s shrinkflation move on its packs of popular Magnum Mini ice creams is a double whammy….

Consumers globally are getting used to shrinking package foods in the wake of chronic food inflation – without manufacturers doing anything to alert them to the fact.

Trust in and affinity for the brand are understandably dealt a heavy blow by such underhand tactics; yet, “shrinkflation” shows no sign of letting up as a world-wide practice.

Leading SA consumer journalist, Wendy Knowler, has been bowled over by Unilever recently, writing on News24.com: “In South Africa we’ve seen everything from cool drinks and chocolate bars to toothpaste and pet food sachets shrink, in some cases, more than once. But what Unilever’s just done to its pack of Ola Magnum ‘Mini’ ice creams takes some beating.”

A reader brought her attention to ‘disappearing’ Mini Classics packs, that now house just five ice creams, instead of the usual six. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, they were smaller than previously.

While the old pack had disclosed the contents as “6 x 60ml” ice-creams, the new one had “5 x 55ml”.

In her complaint to Unilever, the reader slammed the shrinkflation move as “a very devious change to the detriment of the unsuspecting consumer”, adding that they would now be off her shopping list, along with all other Unilever products.

A representative of Unilever’s “customer engagement centre” responded to the complainant by saying while the company understood that “changes to your favourite products can be disappointing”, its commitment to quality and value “remains steadfast”.

“Due to rising costs and in an effort to stay competitive, we’ve updated our packaging from six ice creams of 60ml each to five ice creams of 55ml each.

“This change allows us to maintain the integrity of our product without a significant price increase.”

Effectively, customers are getting about 23% less ice cream than before in each pack. It’s what manufacturers term “making the product more affordable”, the reasoning being that consumers will resist buying a product when it goes beyond a certain price point.

“We’ve carefully considered this decision and believe it aligns with industry standards while continuing to provide you with the best experience,” the Unilever representative said.

Unilever’s marketing lead for ice cream in southern Africa, Ant Borstlap, told News24 that the decision to reduce the Magnum Mini pack was “an effort to maintain the high level of quality and integrity of our product” as global chocolate costs continued to soar.

“The number of units and grammage change is highlighted on pack,” she said.

Read the full article here: News24.com