Overview
- Which? verified dozens of recent cases where everyday items shrank or were reformulated without matching price cuts, spanning Aquafresh, Gaviscon, Nescafé, KitKat and Cadbury.
- Sainsbury’s Scottish Oats fell from 1kg to 500g as the price rose from £1.25 to £2.10, a 236% increase per 100g, while Aquafresh toothpaste went from 100ml to 75ml as the price rose to £2.
- KitKat two‑finger multipacks dropped from 21 to 18 bars and at Ocado the price rose from £3.60 to £5.50, as Quality Street tubs slimmed to 550g with Morrisons’ price up from £6 to £7.
- Which? also highlighted skimpflation, noting White KitKats now contain under 20% cocoa butter so cannot be marketed as white chocolate, and Penguin and Club bars must be labelled with chocolate‑flavour coating.
- Mondelez, Nestlé and the Food and Drink Federation say size or recipe changes are a last resort driven by sharply higher input costs, while Which? urges clearer, more prominent unit pricing online and in stores.