Cadbury has snatched two chocolate Fingers from its famous packs – reducing the number to 22. The move is the latest evidence of how the nation’s favourite brands and supermarkets are cutting back on pack sizes without a corresponding cut in prices. The ploy means shoppers are being subject to stealth price rises in what economists have dubbed ‘shrinkflation’. Going down: Cadbury has snatched two chocolate Fingers from its famous packs – reducing the number to 22 . Now 114 grams: Cadbury chocolate Fingers have come down by 11g - the equivalent of two chocolate Fingers . In most cases, the price remains the same when the amount in the pack is cut, however in some rare examples the change comes with a price rise. Packs of Cadbury chocolate Fingers have come down by 11 grams – the equivalent of two chocolate Fingers – to a weight of 114g. While the popular biscuits carry the Cadbury brand, they are actually made under licence by another manufacturer, Burton’s Biscuit Company, which is responsible for the changes. Burton’s said it did reduce the wholesale price of the packs to supermarkets to reflect the lower weight, but it had no say over whether this was passed this on to customers. The price at Sainsbury’s has risen from £1 to £1.50 over the past year, however it has come down from £1 to 80p at Tesco, according to figures from the MySupermarket website. Last month, the Daily Mail revealed how the makers of PG Tips have reduced the amount of tea in its teabags – cutting the weight of a box of 80 by the equivalent of six teabags . From the archive: Boxes of Cadbury FIngers weighed 150g when this photograph was taken in March 2002 . Makers: The popular biscuits are made under licence by another manufacturer, Burton’s Biscuit Company, which is responsible for the changes. Its head office is pictured (above) in St Albans, Hertfordshire . We also detailed how the Kit Kat Chunky is less chunky than it used to be after it was reduced in weight from 48g to 40g. When challenged, the manufacturer, Nestle, claimed this was partly because of rising costs and partly because of its desire to help customers lose weight as its contribution to the Government’s anti-obesity campaign. In the news: The makers of PG Tips have reduced the amount of tea in its teabags – cutting the weight of a box of 80 by the equivalent of six teabags . Tesco reduced the size of cartons of pasta sauce, such as Tomato & Mascarpone, from 375g to 350g yet the price remained the same and it was still promoted as serving two people. John West cut the size of its tins of No Drain Tuna Steak from 130g to 120g, but again there has been no corresponding fall in the price. Cadbury has something of a track record for shrinking packs in a move that protects its profits. It famously cut back on the number of crème eggs in its multi-packs ahead of Easter from five to six. Before Christmas, Burton’s reduced its £5 Cadbury Collection biscuits from 380g to 335g. In 2011, Cadbury reduced the size of the 140g bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk to 120g, so losing the equivalent of two chunks. It then cut the size of its traditional circular Roses tins from 975g to 850g – effectively snatching away 11 of the chocolate favourites. The firm was taken over by Kraft of the US in 2010 in a deal worth £11.5billion, which has come under fire for a series of cost cutting measures that have undermined the historic British brand. The firm’s American bosses have never been forgiven for reneging on a promise to keep open a Cadbury factory at Keynsham, near Bristol, when it took over the company. They have also come under fire for shifting large parts of their chocolate production to cheaper facilities in Poland. No corresponding fall in the price: John West cut the size of its tins of No Drain Tuna Steak from 130g to 120g . Which? recently highlighted a number of big brands that have been shrunk, such loaves of Hovis ‘Best of Both’ bread are down from 800g to 750g; Birds Eye Select Mixed Vegetables down from 750g to 690g; Aunt Bessie’s Homestyle Chip are 50g lighter at 700g; and Philadelphia Light Soft Cheese is down 20g to 180g. The executive director at Which?, Richard Lloyd, said: ‘Shrinking products can be a sneaky way of putting up costs for consumers because pack sizes shrink but the prices don’t. ‘It’s now time for action on dodgy pricing practices that stops people from easily comparing products to find the cheapest.’ The Food and Drink Federation said: ‘Food and drink pricing always reflects the economic climate of the day, whether that’s the impact of changing utility prices or ingredient costs which can be volatile. ‘Businesses seek to offset these costs wherever possible through improvements in efficiency and productivity, but these actions can only go so far and in some cases companies will reduce the pack size rather than increasing the price for consumers.’ Burton’s confirmed the reduction in the pack size and insisted the chocolate fingers remain good value.
Packs of Cadbury Fingers have come down by 11 grams to weight of 114g . Popular biscuits made under licence by another manufacturer, Burton's . Sainsbury's price up from £1 to £1.50 in a year, but down to 80p at Tesco . Shoppers facing stealth price rises in what economists call 'shrinkflation'