Documenting Costco shrinkflation: Kirkland Signature laundry detergent pods
In my laundry room, I have two packages of Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean Laundry Detergent Pacs: a plastic tub purchased in August 2023 and a plastic bag purchased in September 2024. Both were bought for $26.99.
Each package contains 152 laundry detergent pods, but the other day I noticed a difference: the older package weighs 3.6 kg, while the newer one weighs 2.9 kg.
It’s a subtle reduction; however, it’s clearly an example of “shrinkflation,” which occurs when a company reduces the size of a product while maintaining the same price.
Initially, I thought the weight difference might be due to the change in packaging from a plastic tub to a bag. However, I decided to weigh the pods on a kitchen scale. The old pods weigh 22 grams, while the new ones weigh 19 grams. Additionally, the newer pods are visibly smaller than the older ones.
I know this isn’t the most earth-shattering change, but I think it’s important to document clear examples of “shrinkflation” in the interest of transparency.
It’s a cynical, deceptive, and downright shitty move by Costco.
I would absolutely love for California to pass a law that basically says if you’re a food company and serve more than X amount of people, you have to create a change log of the changes to your food recipes and quantities. I know it will never happen but shrink flation is getting so crazy, outside of the stuff you can easily measure, just in terms of cheapening ingridients, watering down stuff, is getting really insane.