Shrink Ray Hits Diapers

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Pampers now comes in bigger sizes — and smaller packages.

Prices are stealthily rising 5 percent to 7 percent on Procter & Gamble’s brands of diaper, The Wall Street Journal says. Those also include Luvs.

The shelf price will remain the same, but the packages will contain fewer diapers. The number will vary by product, the WSJ says. The changes begin this week.

“For size-five Pampers Cruisers, P&G is cutting eight diapers from the 140-pack box,” the WSJ says. At the retail price of $45.99, that’s an increase of 2 cents per diaper, or $2.80.

Why? It’s, uh, innovation. P&G told the Journal the diapers now absorb leaks better, some lines are coming in bigger sizes, and the packaging is getting a revamp. (Seems like companies always change the packaging when they shrink stuff. I read “new and improved” as “smaller.”)

“In order to deliver that level of innovation to the moms, we need to take a price increase,” P&G spokeswoman Lauren Thaman told the paper. Rival Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies, said it has not recently increased prices.

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