The Missing Middle with Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux From Kraft Dinner to Condos: The Great Shrinkage
9 snips
Oct 1, 2025 The discussion dives into the phenomenon of shrinkflation, revealing how everyday items like Kraft Dinner are getting smaller while prices climb. They explore the psychology behind packaging tricks, and how the housing market is plagued by increasingly tiny condos. Stats show Ontario's new condo sizes have drastically fallen, raising questions about design flaws and developer greed. There's a compelling look at whether these trends are driven by consumer preference or economic necessity, alongside potential policy solutions to combat shrinkflation.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Kraft Dinner Got Noticeably Smaller
- Sabrina noticed Kraft Dinner reduced serving sizes so a box now often feeds one person or only a snack for two.
- She stopped buying KD because she needed multiple boxes to make a proper meal.
Shrinkflation Is A Common Corporate Strategy
- Shrinkflation is widespread: when product sizes change, 80% of the time they shrink and 90% of size changes raise unit prices.
- Companies use size and ingredient tweaks to hide higher cost-per-unit instead of obvious price increases.
Price Anchors Drive Hidden Increases
- Behavioral pricing anchors push firms to keep visible prices within consumer mental thresholds.
- Firms alter package size or formulation rather than cross perceived price anchors like $6 or $9.99.