Reduced grammage in package: will it reduce waist-age?

ITC, Parle, Britannia, Dabur India cut pack weight to avoid price hikes - The Economic Times: "Despite slowing growth and rising cost pressure, consumer goods companies are doing all it takes to hold back price hikes.

As companies begin to comply with the standard packaging norms, they are reducing the weight of packs, known as grammage in trade parlance, to the nearest standard weight in a bid to keep prices unchanged.

Even in cases where grammages have been increased to conventional weights, companies are focusing on cost absorption to ensure that volumes don't suffer. For consumers, this spells good news. Due to increase in cost of raw materials and the rupee depreciation, which has made imports more expensive, FMCG companies have increased prices by 8-10 % since July 2011.

To boost sales without impacting margins, earlier most firms reduced grammages without increasing prices. While the consumer affairs ministry had restricted the sales of 19 products above 10 grams at non-standard weights, the rule was later modified to exempt products of higher weights to win industry support. The rules will be applicable from November. "

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