On a recent trip to Walgreens to purchase Hormel Chili, I noticed immediately that the Hormel Chili with no beans was smaller than the can with beans. I looked at the difference and sure enough, the can with no beans was 4.5 ounces smaller than the can with beans. The ironic part was that they were priced exactly the same. I had planned on purchasing them since they were on sale and I had a coupon, but was taken by complete surprise when I realized there was such a dramatic difference.
I realized immediately why Hormel downsized the can with no beans; this item is more expensive to make than the can with beans. Beans are far less expensive and make great fillers. We use this trick at our own house by adding beans to our main dishes that we serve.
Be prepared when spending your hard earned money to make it stretch further and further while companies continue to reduce the amount of product they are selling us while still maintaining the same price. I wrote an article about Palmolive being downsized a few months ago, so this isn’t something new, but it certainly is frustrating. Most consumers won’t even realize that a product has been downsized. I actually called my mom to see if she had the original full size can of 15 ounces. She did, and was surprised that the can was so much smaller. I told her to expect the changes in size, but don’t expect a decrease in price.
Downsizing happens slow so that a consumer has the chance to absorb the change and then change their expectations. A year from now Hormel doesn’t want you to remember that their Chili lost 4.5 ounces, they want you to think that it was always that way. Most consumers won’t remember, but I will. Another one bites the dust.
Tags: Hormel Chili Downsized