Ice Cream Deception
I want the REST of my "ice cream" bar NOW.
In fact, I want REAL ICE CREAM TOO.
Where is the Rest of my ice cream bar?
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| The Chocolate Coated |
Excuse me, Mr. "original brand" Popsicle, Mr. Revello,, Mr. Cor Dairy 83, or Mr. Generic CEO, whatever your name happens to be; Sorry to bother you, Sir,---but do you really believe consumers do not know when they are being bilked?
Ice cream comes on a stick. Good, wholesome, natural ice cream. When the weather is hot, ice cream on a stick has been a genuine, traditional and healthy treat for children of all ages and adults alike.
Everyone loves genuine, real ice cream--and it is a great North American Tradition.
You are now destroying this tradition by being less than honest.
We have been eating ice cream on a stick for DECADES. Usually vanilla, or sometimes chocolate, but most note-worthy and now revealing-- vanilla ice cream DIPPED in chocolate.
We happen to KNOW what good ice cream is -or WAS.
We KNOW how big ice cream bars USED to be before being downsized to 'YOUR" 60ml profiteering less-than-honest size.
We KNOW they were a LOT bigger than these are today. In the past, they were undoubtedly closer to 100ml.
HOW do WE know, you ask?
Consumers are NOT stupid.
Consumers DO pay attention to details.
Your own production practices have revealed the deception. The chocolate "DIP" line remains FAR UP the now 'chocolate coated stick" on the 'downsized product' EXACTLY where it used to be, but, SIR, for your information, that's where ICE CREAM used to be TOO........but that ice cream is strangely "missing".
Is the chocolate-coated stick the consumer's compensation for the missing ice cream?
Where is the rest of my ice cream?
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| Manufactured under License by Unilever Canada |
Consumers are all too aware that everyone in corporate North America is 'downsizing product packaging ' , 'outsourcing', using CHEAP ingredients, and manipulating operations to save money and make more profit,--- but shame on anyone doing so for using deceptive business practices.
Your children, undoubtedly consumers of ice cream themselves --would be ashamed of this less-than-sterling business ethic. As consumers, we will now undoubtedly boycott your "downsized product" -by the way---which actually is not traditional, genuine ice cream. It is merely a less-than-adequate wannabe pretender.
-------- Oh, YES, displayed in tiny print is "Choclolatey coated frozen dessert bars" --carefully and aptly described, for 'legal requirements'
Frankly, your product is a less than an honest pretender, Sir!
Anyone can read the following "list of ingredients". A mix of : water, 'modified milk ingredients', sugar, glucose, maltodextrine, milk ingredients, 'natural flavour', mono and diglycerides, carob bean gum, guar gum, carrageenan, "Chocolatey Coating" coconut oil, sugar, soy lecithin, artificial flavour, salt, MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS AND/OR OTHER NUTS.
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| A gloriously long list of chemicals does not Ice Cream make! |
At Incoming Bytes my loyal readers insist that we be honest.
In all honesty, "downsizing of product and demanding the same price" is a COMMON PRACTICE.
There is no excuse for less than honest business practices, so let's start here, Mr. CEO..... Send us the rest of OUR ice cream, and while you're at it, make it the REAL stuff !!
Is that Incoming I hear?
You tell em Ray! I hate when stuff like this happens.
ReplyDeletehi Mike, so do I. I believe this is specifically done to increase profit, and if nobody says anything, they get away with it. UNACCEPTABLE under any circumstances. It is unethical. We would have to wonder if the CEO got a bonus for increasing company profits. I despise unethical business! Thanks for commenting! ~R
ReplyDeleteThis is common practice in the old US of A...It ain't what it used to be nor is anything else in the world of daily insanity! Can't even eat real food! That might be good for our health. The only way to avoid this is to eat organic. Ya gotta watch them too because the small company you enjoy will definitely be sold off to the bigger corporations and then everything goes down hill from there on out! Pretty pathetic....Make your own ice cream bars RK...Can't be too hard....Blessings...VK
ReplyDeleteVk, that's exactly what they do....they naively believe that customers do NOT know the difference when they shrink the "size" of the product. I am shining the spotlight on these people. This is an unethical process. Meantime, I will consider making my own ice cream, period. haha! Thanks for that suggestion! Have a wonderful day! ~R
DeleteYou are quite right about packages being downsized. We noticed it with the Ocean Spray large containers recently - they are now a wee bit smaller! Now as for the ice cream... well I am getting hungry for some (even if it is not allll real). Another good incoming :)
ReplyDeleteHi Christyb, thank you! The industry has been downsizing packages and representing them as the same package for quite some time now. I believe there should be a consumer backlash about that devious, manipulative bid for more profit--at the expense of the consumer.
DeleteSome of the containers are not just a 'wee bit smaller',,,they're a LOT smaller. I believe these ice cream bars WERE 100ml and a 40% reduction in size to 60ml is just a bit much to remain silent about.
"Christyb, a tough NEW consumer advocate" ":) Thanks for commenting! ~ R
HA! They probably made the ice-cream bars teeny tiny so they would only have about 40 calories each.
ReplyDeleteAbout 15 years ago, I was broke and traveling in Prague. I stopped in a local grocery store and bought a box of cookies. When I opened it, I was mortified to find that is was about 50% packaging to make it look like there were more cookies than there were! There were these weird cardboard corners and lots of molded plastic. Oh, I was so mad! I was going to take the box in and yell at the cashier in my (non-existent) Czech or whatever language they speak, until I got out my calculator and realized I had purchase the cookies for the equivalent of ......... 22 cents. I decided to go buy another box.
best,
MOV
Hi MOV ! Yes, they will have some 'fabulous excuse' for downsizing,--anything to make more profit at the expense of the consumer. Manipulators and devious corporations can 'justify' anything, can't they? I wonder if the CEO got a big bonus for allowing that one? I wonder if that is allowed within their licensing agreement with Unilever? hehe....
DeleteAbout the cookies, it sure sounds like environmentally unsound packaging practices...the packaging was probably about 10 cents worth-so the cookies were cheap...I hope they were tasty too!
Nice to see you, thanks for commenting! Best to you too! ":) ~R
This is every stinking thing these days. From canned goods to ice cream. I remember half gallons. Not sold any more. 1.75 quarts (when you can still find them) and the price is precisely the same...even the box is the same size. Would not want to have to pay the printer to print smaller boxes.
ReplyDeleteUgh.
Red.
Red, it seems that "Corporate North America" thinks consumers do not know the difference. Shall we educate corporations otherwise? I suggest it's not a bad idea! They "think" they are getting away with it, and WILL, if nobody points out the "ERROR" of their ways and the poor business ethics involved. Thanks for commenting! ~R
DeleteIt’s not just one thing anymore is it? And it’s happening to many products not only food items, as the Profit margin gets bigger as the product gets smaller..
ReplyDeleteGreat investigative work Raymond... And I often wonder at times what it is we are given to eat, and after reading some of the labels on some food items.. Its not good!..
Oh an by the way.... still raining here in the UK!.. Hope your cooling down a bit even if your Ice-cream is smaller and Not real ice-cream...Keep Well .. ~Sue
hi Sue, no, they're doing it with everything, thinking nobody notices the difference. We are being fed processed PAP and poorest quality food for the highest possible profit. Corporate North America is sick and greedy. Why do you think illness is so rampant? You got it. Poor food, poor nutrition, synthetic, hollow calories.
DeleteJust finished irrigating the garden.Hot and dry. The smaller ice "product" isn't helpful. AT least if it was genuine ice cream it would be a pleasure to eat, even if a very TINY treat.
Thanks for visiting, Sue! ~R
Everything is smaller including my bank account. I opened a bag of chips a few weeks ago and there were 5 chips in the bag. Mostly air. I paid for air.
ReplyDeletehi CYW....EXACTLY ! So do a post about that. With your style and wit, it should be funny AND pointed. Don't forget to put a picture of the BRAND on the post. Go for it. You paid for AIR. Give them some INK too. ":)) I can't wait to see it! ":)) ~R
DeleteWe noticed this week that the cereal boxes have suddenly become narrower...about ten bran flakes across. But they look the same size from the front. Shocking... At least booze sizing seems to remain standard.
ReplyDeletehi LB, welcome to Incoming Bytes! Yes, the cereal boxes, packaging is now designed to deceive. Clearly a consumer backlash MUST occur. If the spotlight is not turned on the deceivers and dishonest,--the corporate giant thieves will continue to spiral out of control gouging the consumer at every turn with deceptive packaging and unethical business practices. Send a letter to the offenders with copies to Consumer and Corporate Affairs. You'll have new, downsized alcohol containers in no time too, instead of 1000 ml it will be 975, or there will be 38.5 oz ...for the same price. It's just a matter of time. Thanks for dropping in and commenting. ":) ~R
ReplyDeleteOh, I hear ya, and honestly, I was just about to write what I look up and see Liquorstore Bear has already written: that last week I bought a box of cereal that was markedly more narrow than the box I had purchased three weeks ago...
ReplyDeletePearl
Hi Pearl, we need a consumer revolt, EVERY blogger should be writing about this corporate travesty and dishonesty. That type of deception is not only 'too common' , it is becoming standard practice in Corporate North America. Unacceptable under ANY terms. Thanks for commenting! ":) !R
DeleteAlso, it's part of the plot to make us believe we should be delighted that it's UNDER 100 CALORIES - 'cuz calories are whatcha DON"T need, no sirree. If they give us enough calories, we might have the energy to get mad.
ReplyDeleteI get even by eating lard in the middle of the night.
~Wendy
unfortunately food nowadays has been modified to the point that you need a degree in chemistry to know what's in it. I remember food tasting much better when I was a kid. Although I don't drink soda, all of them nowadays are sweetened with corn syrup instead of sugar...corn syrup has been linked to an increase of obesity and diabetes.
ReplyDeleteI've also noticed coffee cans contain much less product in them, even though they're the same size as they were in the past. I remember when a can of coffee used to contain 16 oz. Now they're down to 10.5 and the cans are half empty.
The corporate behemoths will continue to get away with this because they're only looking out for one thing: the bottom line. And all that packaging: that's another story, not only is it expensive but it's bad for the environment.
i went on line just to see if someone complained of the downsized revello bar , gosh i found this site and freakin right...everyone complains to these idiot companies,shame on the old brand name...peoples are not stupid ,that at least do fight back
ReplyDelete