McVitie’s Original Digestives have become the latest product to be subject to ‘shrinkflation’ as the size of a packet was reduced rising ingredient costs.
One packet of the popular biscuits will be reduced from 500g to 400g, which is equivalent to taking seven Digestives out of a full packet of 34.
The changes by Pladis, which owns McVitie’s, follow a reduction in the number of Jaffa Cakes in a packet by the same company last year.
One packet of the popular biscuits will be reduced from 500g to 400g, which is equivalent to taking seven Digestives out of a full packet of 34
The higher cost-per-unit Digestives will start to go on sale later in January, The Times reports.
The Turkish company Pladis is said to have opted for a smaller packet rather than cheaper ingredients as it faced financial pressures.
The company’s managing director in the UK and Ireland, Nick Bunker, said it had become more expensive to bake McVitie’s products.
Pladis said it had consulted with customers whose ‘overwhelming feedback’ was that preserving the essence and taste of the biscuits should be the priority.
It is also the maker of household names such as Hobnobs, Penguin bars, and Jaffa Cakes, which were reduced from 12 to 10 in a packet last year.
The first McVitie’s Digestive biscuit was produced in 1892, with the same ‘secret recipe’ still in use today, according to the company’s website.
Mark Jones, a food and drink lawyer at Gordons law firm, said: ‘Since the Brexit referendum, we’ve seen Jaffa Cakes, Maltesers, Birds Eye fishfingers, Pepperami, Coco Pops, Toblerone and even packs of chicken at Asda getting smaller.
‘McVitie’s reducing the size of its digestive biscuits is the third time the brand has cut its pack size, following Jaffa Cakes and dark chocolate digestives.
‘It is clear that brands, such as McVitie’s, see shrinkflation as a way of maintaining margin without notably adjusting their on the shelf price.’