{"id":573026,"date":"2026-03-31T14:14:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/573026\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:14:37","slug":"what-is-shrinkflation-beef-bacon-eggs-protein-powder-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/573026\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Shrinkflation? Beef, Bacon, Eggs, Protein Powder, Cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated3 min read<\/p>\n

HAVE YOU NOTICED that your package of bacon seems a bit smaller\u2014or that your protein bars have a few less bars in a pack? Maybe you\u2019ve realized that the numbers on the nutrition label for your protein powder are suddenly different. It\u2019s true: Shrinkflation has come for your protein.<\/p>\n

Just in case you\u2019re unfamiliar with the term, \u201cshrinkflation\u201d is when food manufacturers reduce food package sizes or items in a multi-pack without announcing that they\u2019re doing so. Or, sometimes, the manufacturers keep package sizes the same, but use more fillers in the product to reduce the cost of production. Edgar Dworsky, longtime consumer advocate and founder of ConsumerWorld.org<\/a>, describes shrinkflation as the way that companies pass on a sneaky price increase to consumers: \u201cYou are getting less for your money. And if you are not paying attention, you may not even realize it. The best scam is the one when you never knew you’ve been taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s causing today\u2019s protein shrinkflation?<\/p>\n

IN AN ECONOMY where the price of raw materials continue to climb, food manufacturers are trying to keep their own costs low by selling less food for the same price. It\u2019s an effective strategy to avoid \u201csticker shock\u201d in consumers, while recouping some of those higher costs.<\/p>\n

But part of this is due to demand and part is because of supply, says David L. Ortega, PhD<\/a>, food economist and professor at Michigan State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh protein diets are driving demand for beef, at the same time as the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low,\u201d Ortega says. \u201cFor eggs, the bird flu outbreak that began in 2022 has been devastating, causing the U.S. to lose over 140 million birds. Prices have come down significantly from their peaks a year ago, but they remain above pre-pandemic levels and the market is still vulnerable to new outbreaks. For any product that uses eggs as an ingredient, like protein bars, baked goods, and prepared foods, those elevated costs add pressure which may result in shrinkflation.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as far as your jug of muscle-building powder? \u201cWhey protein isolate prices have hit record highs and U.S. supply is very tight,\u201d says Ortega. \u201cAn increasing number of Americans are now on GLP-1 medications, and whey protein is commonly recommended alongside them to preserve muscle mass. That surge in demand, on top of the existing fitness and wellness trend, has outpaced what manufacturers can produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we do to avoid or manage shrinkflation?<\/p>\n

WITH A CAREFUL eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way that protein-conscious consumers will be able to recognize a change is to review the ingredients statement and the nutrition facts label of products they regularly buy, and note the amount of protein per serving,\u201d says Dworsky.<\/p>\n

For protein powders, this can manifest as fewer scoops per container, smaller serving sizes overall, or reformulations that swap pricier whey isolate for cheaper concentrate blends. So make sure you\u2019re reading the Nutrition Facts Panel and the ingredients list.<\/p>\n

(If all that sounds like work to you, Men\u2019s Health has done the math for you in their best protein powders<\/a> round-up.)<\/p>\n

And then, along with calculating price per unit, Ortega recommends diversifying your protein sources. \u201cWith beef at record highs and whey in shortage, more affordable options like canned fish, chicken, beans, and lentils can help stretch a food budget,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Thinking of writing the company to complain about shrinkflation? Don\u2019t expect miracles. \u201cThe only real way to avoid shrinkflation is to switch brands when your regular one starts to play games with the ingredients or the net weight,\u201d Dworsky says. \u201cComplaining to the company won’t get them to change the product back, but you might get some coupons in the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

Abby Langer, RD is the owner of Abby Langer Nutrition, a Toronto-based nutrition consulting and communications company<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3 min read HAVE YOU NOTICED that your package of bacon seems a bit smaller\u2014or that your protein…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49,48,1641,220250,784,84,1642,395,194180,220249],"class_list":{"0":"post-573026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-content-type-how-to-service","11":"tag-contentid-5507f586-7097-4a5c-b9ea-561b2fc8fd02","12":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-locale-us","15":"tag-nutrition","16":"tag-read_time-3","17":"tag-shorttitle-shrinkflation-is-coming-for-your-protein"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}