@rbreich
I don't know if this happens with other grocery shoppers. Once I let go of a name-brand product, that brand doesn't exist anymore. Like the name brands listed in the post -- I don't even go down those aisles. I'm guessing the corporations are doing "IBGYBG" (I'll be gone you'll be gone) with name brands.
@rbreich I don't have any research ready to hand to back this up, but just from my own memory, I get the distinct impression this has been going on (to some extent) since (at least) the Reagan administration. ...and then, of course, there's prices driving inflation, but wages not tracking inflation. That's a good way to hide profit-taking.
Not the same thing, but bought some groceries last week. While leaving the store walked by the flowers and decided to buy a bunch marked $19.95, but pretty nice size. Went back in to the auto checkout and it rang up $23.99. Decided, screw this, and went and got a smaller bunch marked $13.95. You guessed it, it rang up for $15.95. This time, talked to the manager who quickly plugged in her card and gave them to me for the $13.95, saying it must be a "recent price change."
@rbreich I try to avoid products with weird weight/volume measurements, like 11 3/8 oz, as they clearly represent cheating by presenting a package that appears to be of a standard size but is actually smaller. Coffee if particularly bad. I don't mind the occasional one that looks funny till you see that it is a reasonable 'round number' in metric. Trader Joes' "pound plus" chocolate bars are actually 500 grams.
@rbreich
I think Kleenex now puts 23 tissues in a square box. But Kimberly-Clark still keeps the high price and the same sized box that used to hold 100 tissues.
You know, to service that massive installed base of tissue box holders already in people's homes.
@rbreich Plastic has almost completely replaced glass across the spectrum of food and drink packaging.
It saves shipping costs.
Our environmental future be damned and our rotten, corrupt government allows it to happen.
Packaging should have standard sizes, e.g. 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 4kg, 8kg, 6 units, 12 units, 24 units...
Sizes of 230g, 450g, 1.3kg are a dark pattern that makes nearly impossible for consumers to know what they are really buying and how much they are paying for it. A really honest company would never do that kind of nonsense.