Tuesday 5 July 2022 05:03 PM 'Fun size' version of Twix is 15% smaller but will cost the SAME as Mars blames ... trends now

Twix is shrinking its 'fun size' bars while keeping them at the same price in a bid to retain profits amid the ongoing supply chain crisis, its parent company Mars revealed today. 

It is the latest in a string of products to fall victim to 'shrinkflation' - the term used for when food giants quietly reduce the size of hundreds of products while still charging the same prices. 

The phenomenon was widely adopted following the 2008 financial crash and is driven by firms anxious not to raise product prices despite the rising cost of raw materials, energy and transport. 

It has returned with force this year as firms exiting the Covid pandemic struggle to cope with rising costs, fuelled by the war in Ukraine and its impact on oil prices and grain supply.

In May, the Mail on Sunday revealed how some companies reduced their packet sizes by as much as a quarter. Examples included Philadelphia cream cheese which had gone from 340g to 280g, but still cost £3.

It means families who are already suffering through the worst cost of living crisis since the 1970s, exacerbated by an 11 per cent inflation rate, face even more financial pressure through hidden increases. 

It comes amid widespread outrage today in the face of rapidly surging prices for everyday items, including a 750g tub of Lurpak butter, which is selling for £7.25 at Sainsbury's. It had previously been £5.90.

Supermarkets are also placing security tags on items like blocks of cheese and baby milk formula, suggesting increasingly desperate consumers are turning to shoplifting to provide for their families. 

Mars today blamed the rising costs of 'raw materials and operations' for reducing the size of its multipack Twix bars.  

Currently, multipacks of Twix's fun size bars contain either nine or 16 bars, which weigh 23g each. 

However in the new multipacks, set to be rolled out over the next 10 days, each bar will weigh 20g. 

Prices vary but Sainsbury's is already selling the new 16-pack for £2.80, the same price as it used to sell the 23g version for -  although it currently has a promotion on the 9x20g pack to bring it down from the RRP of £1.75 to £1.25, according to The Grocer magazine.

Tesco, meanwhile, is selling the newer 16x20g multipack for £3.00 even though the same pack with 23g bars was previously on its website for £2.00.

Morrisons no longer has the older versions on its website while Asda has yet to replace its 23g multipacks. 

The various sizes and prices may confuse shoppers, but consumers get more chocolate for their money if they buy bigger bars, even if it does mean more calories.

The 16x20g multipack, for example, now works out at 94p per 100g. 

But one can buy a 9x40g pack of Twix bars on offer for £2.00, which is the equivalent of paying just 56p per 100g.

A spokeswoman for Mars told The Grocer it had been 'absorbing the rising costs of raw materials and operations for some time, but the growing pressures we are facing mean that more needs to be done'.

She added: 'Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we take lightly, but we're confident that our chocolate brands still offer our customers and consumers the best possible value for money without compromising on quality or taste.'

It comes as it was revealed today that a large 1kg tub of Lurpak is now close to £10, retailing at £9.30 in Iceland. 

Data from comparison site trolley.co.uk revealed that a standard 500g pack of the popular spreadable butter is up around £2.25 to £5 in the past year and is also being security tagged. Sainsbury's is selling a 750g tub of Lurpak for £7.25 - up from £5.90 in recent months. 

Meanwhile, to counter the growing threat of shoplifting, Tesco has fitted security tags to tubs of baby milk. The cans of the formula are being protected at Tesco Extra in Streatham, south London. It follows Sainsbury's recently tagging tubs of Aptamil baby, toddler and follow-on milks. 

Justifying putting tags on more foods, a Co-op spokesman said: 'Co-op has been involved in a small scale trial of new packaging for higher value products for well over a year, with the additional security providing a further deterrent if a store locally experiences shoplifting issues'. 

It came after the boss of Sainsbury's warned today that pressure on household budgets 'will only intensify over the remainder of the year' amid the worst inflation crisis in the UK for decades, while Tesco is running out of Heinz baked beans and ketchup due to a stand-off with the US food producer over price increases.