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Magnum ice creams hit by shrinkflation as supermarkets sell three for price of four

Magnum
Magnum

Magnum has cut the number of ice creams sold in its multipacks despite the price staying the same for shoppers.

Unilever, the owner of the brand, has shrunk the size of the packs by a quarter in the latest round of shrinkflation on supermarket shelves.

The packs now carry just three ice creams, rather than four, but are being sold at the same price as the older format. Tesco & Sainsbury's have flagged the smaller packs as “new” online.

One customer writing on Tesco's website called the change “very disappointing”.

It is the second round of downsizing for Magnums in less than a year. Unilever reduced the size of the ice creams last summer in a scramble to mitigate the impact of skyrocketing costs.

The ice cream sticks were previously 110ml each but were reduced to 100ml in July 2022.

The practice of reducing the size of products while prices remain unchanged is known as shrinkflation and is used by companies to cut costs.

Unilever has blamed cut backs on the soaring price of ingredients and raw materials. Its chief executive Alan Jope said in February Unilever, which also owns brands like Marmite and Dove, had only passed on 75pc of its costs to customers last year.

A Unilever spokesman said: “Although we are currently experiencing significant increases in input costs, we will always try to absorb as much of the cost pressures ourselves before increasing prices or changing pack size.”

The spokesman added that Magnum's two most popular flavours, White and Classic, had been launched into new packs of six which “provide more value for shoppers at a lower recommended retail price per stick”.

Manufacturers recommend a price point when selling to a shop but ultimately it is the retailer that sets the price on the shelf.

Unilever is not alone in making its products smaller over recent months.

The Telegraph revealed in December the Mini Cheddars had made its biscuits smaller and less cheesy.

Cadbury, meanwhile, recently reduced the size of its “Big Share” bags from 240g to 184.8g with no corresponding price change in supermarket prices.