Source: Lucozade

Shoppers complained about the change on social media this week

Lucozade has denied claims it has fallen victim to shrinkflation.

Shoppers took to social media this week to air their frustration at finding one-litre bottles of Lucozade Energy had been knocked down to 900ml – a 10% reduction in size – without a corresponding reduction in price on shelf.

The soft drinks giant responded quickly to complaints, tweeting it was “changing our 1 litre Lucozade Energy bottle to a 900ml size so we can continue selling it for £1 as we know it’s an important price for our customers” and stressed ”prices in store are set by the retailer”.

In another tweet the brand added: “We make any changes to our drinks reluctantly, but if we’re going to continue to sell Lucozade Energy for the long-term we have to occasionally increase the price. We do so rarely and we think we’re competitive with the other drinks you’ll see on store shelves.”

A third tweet said the change meant the business could “continue to sell our drinks for the long-term and still make positive changes to our range – like new flavours and formats”.

The brand’s entire range of 1l bottles has been affected by the size change.

However, Lucozade owner Suntory Beverage & Food GB & Ireland told The Grocer it had reduced the RSP from £1.99 for a 1l bottle to £1.50 for a 900ml bottle, with retailers able to set their own prices.

A spokesman said the brand had “made a number of changes to our pack formats that help us to offer compelling value to our consumers across a range of drink-later occasions”.

It was “introducing a 900ml bottle in place of 1l packs, a bigger 1.45l bottle this month and a 12-can 330ml multipack”, he added.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we’ve used this as an opportunity to introduce a transparent label to our Lucozade Energy bottles, making the drinks far easier to recycle back into new bottles.”

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