Premier Foods has cut the size of a raft of Batchelors instant meal products – but prices have not fallen accordingly.
Packs of Batchelors Super Noodles have shrunk by 10% from 100g to 90g, while Super Rice has undergone the same reduction. The smaller packs of both ranges are so far available only in Tesco, where their shelf prices have not changed from 81p.
Meanwhile, larger Pasta ‘n’ Sauce packs have dropped from 110g to 99g, another reduction of 10%, but Tesco’s price has stuck at £1.
The Grocer understands Premier has also trimmed the weight of Batchelors Deli Box Noodles and Batchelors Super Risotto’s larger (100g) packs – though it is not yet clear by how much.
The changes, which have so far affected more than 20 SKUs, came as the result of “significant increases in the price of some of the ingredients we buy, as well as other costs due to the decline in the value of the pound and rising commodity costs” said a spokeswoman for Premier.
“We’ve done our best to manage these higher costs through improving our own efficiency wherever we can. However, it’s not been possible to absorb the full impact and, therefore, rather than raise prices, we chose to reduce the size of some of our packs.”
The smaller products still provide shoppers with “good value and fulfilling choice” she added. She also stressed that while Premier set an rsp, pricing was “at the sole discretion of the retailer”.
This is not the first time Premier has felt forced by economic pressures to shrinkflate its products. In July 2018, it blamed the rising cost of ingredients for cutting its Homepride range of cooking sauces from 500g to 485g while retaining an rsp of £1.59.
Premier reduced the size of its larger packs of Mr Kipling individually wrapped slices in January 2017 from nine portions to eight. However, the SKUs’ rsp was also cut, from £2.39 to £2.25, meaning the price per slice was up only “a little bit” (1.6p), according to the supplier.
No comments yet