Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is selling a significantly smaller stick of Brut deodorant for more than double the unit price of the old product, in an extreme example of “shrinkflation” that leaves shoppers paying more for common household products.
While not unlawful, the pricing decision rubs against heightened public criticism of strategies employed by supermarkets, which have consistently defended themselves against price gouging allegations during a cost-of-living crisis.
Coles and Woolworths are also defending court claims that they have deceived customers with fake discounts.
PharmaCare-owned Brut recently shrank the size of its deodorant stick by one-third from 75g to 50g, as the item’s retail price at Woolworths increased from $7 to $10. The new version now costs $20 per 100g – more than twice the cost of the old product.
Newcastle resident Rachel King, a long-term buyer of the product, said she only noticed the changed size after she returned home from the supermarket.
“It has the same colour and style of packaging, and even though I buy it all the time, I just picked it up and went, ‘Oh yeah, it’s back in stock’.
“When I realised what had happened, I just thought: that’s a massive increase because in one go they’ve doubled the price.”
A Woolworths spokesperson said Brut “reformulated” the product last year, and that the supermarket was selling it “in line with the supplier’s new recommended retail price”.
PharmaCare said in a statement that due to post-pandemic manufacturing pressures, its previous capability for producing the deodorant had become unviable.
“As a result we have had to rebuild this capability in our business. This has been an extensive process to provide a product that reflects the one our consumers know and love,” the company said.
“Unfortunately, this has come with an increase in cost to avoid discontinuation of the Brut deodorant stick from our range altogether.”
Shrinking products
Known as “shrinkflation”, many food and grocery suppliers have reduced the size of their products but not the price, leaving consumers to pay more for everything from cereal to Mars bars, Ritz crackers and wraps.
The major supermarket chains have also adopted the shrinking strategy for some of their home products, helping them pass on costs and increase profits by avoiding a sensitive price hike more likely to attract the ire of customers.
The Brut example, however, is extreme, given the reduced size was coupled with a steep price rise, ultimately set by the supermarket.
In its interim supermarket inquiry report, the consumer regulator said many shoppers had raised concerns about the lack of transparency around shrinkflation, especially in cases where new packaging was designed to look the same as the old.
This prompted calls by consumer advocates to force supermarkets to notify consumers in store when a package size changes, a practice adopted in France.
King said the downsized deodorant was almost the same height as the previous version.
“I didn’t notice the difference in size, I just thought it had gone up three bucks,” she said.
“I just picked it up, chucked it in the trolley and took it home.”
By establishing a new $10 floor price, Woolworths now tells customers they are receiving a discount if they can buy the Brut stick for anything less than the sticker price.
Woolworths put the downsized product in its 8-14 January weekly special for $7, telling customers it represented a $3 saving despite still costing 50% more, per unit price, than they could have bought the product for prior to it changing size around September 2024.
Australia’s other major supermarket chain, Coles, sells the new Brut product for $7.
A Coles spokesperson said it was committed to offering value for customers, while also maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with its suppliers.
“We assess any cost price increases on products to ensure they are justified,” the spokesperson said.
“This approach helps us carefully consider factors such as rising production costs and supply chain impacts, allowing us to balance the needs of our suppliers with the work we do to deliver value for our customers.”
