The Incredible Shringking Yogurt

October 10, 2008 4:27 PM

Is the 8 oz. yogurt serving gone for good?

For some time now I've been noticing that the national brands of yogurt have been reducing the size of their single-serving containers from 8 ounces down to 6 ounces. One by one, they've been getting smaller. The last of the name brands has now gone that route, and now the store brands seem to be doing this too. Today, I noticed that one of the last local store brands with the 8 oz cup has restocked their product with containers that are the same price, same basic package graphics, but 6 ounces. The Nov. 1st expiration date containers on the shelf were 8 oz, the Nov. 15th ones are little 6 ounce-ers.

I'm a guy who has been in the habit of bringing a yogurt to work for lunch 2 or 3 days a week and the little servings don't really satisfy, with the added insult of not being any cheaper. I live in New England, by the way.

Is this happening everywhere? Anybody in the food market or yogurt biz have any insight?

posted by longsleeves to shopping (15 answers total)

Milk and dairy are getting much more expensive. So they have a choice: jack up the price of the 8oz servings, or reduce to 6oz and maintain the price. They choose the latter in the, probably correct, assumption that people are psychologically more willing to pay the same amount for less product than pay more for the same product.

If they could get away with shrinking gallons of milk they'd probably do that too, but a gallon is a gallon.
posted by Justinian at 4:35 PM on October 10, 2008

Companies are reducing product sizes of much more than just yogurt. It's a cost-cutting measure.

See the grocery shrink ray at the Consumerist.
posted by phatkitten at 4:35 PM on October 10, 2008

It's happening where I am too. Worse, they're cutting more and more yogurt with cornstarch or gelatin and calling it "light."
posted by wtdoor at 4:35 PM on October 10, 2008

This is a suggestion rather than an answer to your question, but can you buy a big container (32 oz. or whatever it is) and bring some to work in an 8-oz. tupperware container?
posted by bassjump at 4:56 PM on October 10, 2008

bassjump, the big containers have a very limited range of flavors plus I'm far too busy (read way lazy) but thanks for the suggestion.
posted by longsleeves at 5:02 PM on October 10, 2008

It's true where I am in Minnesota, too. The local brand (old home) only offers the 8 oz. size in plain and vanilla, I think.
posted by cabingirl at 5:23 PM on October 10, 2008

They've done this in Publix supermarkets too. Downsized from 8oz to 6oz, price is the same. They also stopped selling it with the nice reuseable plastic lid :( I figured it was a reaction to all the cost-of-doing-business-hits supermarkets must be taking lately, including increased cost of delivery.
posted by brain cloud at 6:10 PM on October 10, 2008

I agree that a lot of it is the shrink ray effect, but many yogurts have been 6 oz forever (Yoplait, for example). Here, the Fred Meyer/Kroger yogurt is still 8 oz and it's pretty good.
posted by peep at 8:06 PM on October 10, 2008

Unless I'm remembering wrong, yogurts used to be bigger than they are now (err...than they were recently). The last shrinking (without corresponding price drop) is why I stopped buying yogurt.
posted by inigo2 at 9:00 PM on October 10, 2008

Wow, an 8-way tie for best answer. Is this some sort of statement about the supremacy of things in eights?
posted by Kololo at 10:15 PM on October 10, 2008

Actually, Yoplait (which yes, has been 6 oz for a long time) has just cut down to 4 oz by making the indentation in the bottom larger.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:46 PM on October 10, 2008

I figured you didn't like the flavors in the big containers, but I thought I'd try. Another thought: what flavor(s) *do* you like? A little jam in plain or vanilla yogurt is pretty yummy and will give you an easy way to get a bunch of different flavors - strawberry, peach, blueberry, etc.
posted by bassjump at 12:19 AM on October 11, 2008

I guess it's just a statement that all the answers were interesting and appreciated.

bassjump, thanks for the thought maybe I'll try that. Except for peach. ugh.
posted by longsleeves at 12:34 AM on October 11, 2008

IndigoRain: Actually, Yoplait (which yes, has been 6 oz for a long time) has just cut down to 4 oz by making the indentation in the bottom larger.

Not true. Yoplait Whips are 4oz in the same shelf size cup but regular Yoplait is still 6oz single serve or 32oz tubs. (I work for the company that does almost all the prepress for General Mills including Yoplait. I do not work for General Mills.)
posted by nathan_teske at 3:11 PM on October 11, 2008

You should see the yogurts in Canada. It's getting to the point of ridiculousness, where in a package of yogurt you get 2 tablespoons of something that is 0% fat and no sugar, and you might get 20-40 kcals out of the whole shebang. Not my idea of a satisfying snack.

I buy Neilson yogurts, which are about as big as they come (unless you're buying one of the large, multiserving tubs) -- and they're only about 6.25 ounces once you convert from grams (175 g.)

Little tiny ridiculous cups of yogurt just get on my nerves. I've been eating yogurt daily as a snack since I was a little kid, and I want my damn yogurt. I always attributed it to yogurt being "lady food," and hence they are always trying to remove as much nutritional value and calories as possible. I'm sure the whole portion-control craze has not adversely affected these companies' bottom lines, either, since they can sell less yogurt for the same price.
posted by peggynature at 9:19 AM on October 13, 2008