An email to my Daughters regarding the diminished size of Fig Newtons
Hi Kiddos:
It is 3 am. Par for the course I just woke up, wide awake in the
middle of the night, unable to sleep. I just had a glass of milk and
five Fig Newtons. What has happened with the size of Fig Newtons? I
swear they are one third to one half the size they were several years
ago!
This is very sneaky. So many products keep the same price but the
product shrinks in size. THIS IS UN-AMERICAN! Fig Newtons use to
come in two wrapped bold and plump stacks in each package. Now they
are in some goofy resealable little pack. I ate several hundred of
these weird little cookies on my four hundred plus miles while doing the 2003
Ride The Rockies bike ride. I may be getting old but I can tell these
cookies are smaller than they use to be. Were can I go with this? I
started a Tweet a couple of weeks ago. Lots of comments on the
Newtons, but nothing regarding their size. Should I call Nabisco, the
EPA, FDA, Homeland Security or the IRS? This SO WRONG! I think
Nabisco figured they could pull this off without anyone taking notice.
The diversion is different Newton products. First they offered Low
Fat Fig Newtons. Those tasted like dried moose turds; NO THANK YOU!
Now there are all of these other Newtons: Strawberry, Cherry,
Raspberry and God knows what else. I think the Tea Party may jump on
this one! "Sarah Palin can not see a Newton from her front porch!"
Later girls. I will search with all the search engines--I will get to
the bottom on this. Only intense Post Packaging Therapy will get me
through this one.
Love you,
Dad
Kraft Food's response to my letter, inquiring about the size reduction of Newtons:
Dear Dennis,
Thanks for taking the time to let us know about your recent experience with Fig NEWTONS Fruit Chewy Cookies. There is nothing more important to us than giving you, and every one of our consumers, high-quality products.
For that reason, we were sorry to hear that your purchase did not meet your expectations. Please know that we will do everything we can to help ensure your satisfaction in the future.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. It's feedback like yours that we use to continually improve the products we offer. I am enclosing reimbursement for Fig NEWTONS Fruit Chewy Cookies and hope that your next experience will be a good one.
Sincerely,
Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations
I wholeheartedly agree. I just opened a package of them for the first time in ages. I've liked them since childhood. Surely they were a LOT bigger than this. So I googled the question and wound up here! Their response to you reads like a say nothing from a politician.
ReplyDeleteI haven't purchased them in years but decided to treat my husband to a package since they have always been one of his favorite cookies. This will certainly be the LAST time I do so. Both of us were stunned and disappointed by the small size of the package and the ridiculously tiny cookies inside. Nevermind that a the 10 oz package cost $3.50 ON SALE. These cookies are OVERPRICED AND UNDERSIZED Never again! Bye bye Nabisco!
ReplyDeleteSame here Mrs. Unknown. Talk about 'downsizing'! I purchased a small package of Fig Newton's today and Dennis is right, the cookies are no longer rectangular and thick as they once were. You have to strongly image the flavor for the lack of ample fig filling. They are no longer worth consuming. I'm going to figure out how to bake my own... off to YouTube I go! - Jon
DeleteYou would be HORRIFIED to know how SMALL they are today in 2020 ! One bite size! Horrible and just down right not American!
ReplyDeleteI just said this same thing and then googled and found you. Thank you for validating my upsetting dessert.
ReplyDeleteWell we made it through 2020 and guess what, the Newtons are still shrinking! I, like Dennis, remember a time I could only eat 1/2 a sleeve before filling up and that was probably overeating. Now, I can almost finish the entire package. How can we fix this? I'm not opposed to business or profitability, but c'mon -- a company that owns this many successful brands raking in over $25 billion a year surely can afford to produce a product bigger than what should be called bite sized at best.
ReplyDeleteI won’t buy anymore
ReplyDeleteMy wife bought them the other day, we haven't had them in years and I also agree they are smaller. It's not only Fig Newtons, look at milk, sugar, soda etc. When sugar was 5 lbs. now it's 4 lbs. Milk, soda etc. used to be quarts, gallons. Now all this is in liters which is smaller in size by ounces
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad to know I'm not going crazy. I bought a box for the first time in years today and was astounded. 10 ounces? I'm certain it used to be a one pound box with two large sleeves of cookies. They are tiny and that is being kind. We need a support group. LOL
ReplyDeleteOriginally a pound before they trimmed 2 ounces three different times to the current 10 ounces. 16 - 14 - 12 - 10.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I'm not the only one suffering. I always loved them when I was a kid and thought I'd buy some a few days ago while I was at the store. The package was tiny, like the size of my hand and it was 4.99, I don't know who is buying them. I'm glad I didn't splurge and get some after seeing the comments about the cookies themselves.
ReplyDeleteI bought a pack as a treat for my husband a couple of days ago and was shocked at the size of the cookies. And the package is ridiculously small for the price.
ReplyDeleteNabisco's associate director of consumer relations said, "Please know that we will do everything we can to help ensure your satisfaction in the future...It's feedback like yours that we use to continually improve the products we offer." 11 years later, it seems she meant they'd never in a million years make the cookies(or package) the size they used to be. The only thing I hate worse than shrinking products is corporate BS. It's time to make my own fig bars.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI opened a package yesterday for the first time in years and was also shocked to see the size change to such small cookies. I Googled what was the reason and this is how I come across you and your article about it. IT STINKS! and Yes Un - American. They don't taste the same to me either.
As I read through some of the reviews I can see they have no intention of making them big again ...BIG FAT RIP-OFF!
Yep, I got excited when I saw fig newtons were available at my local Walgreens as it's been years since I've had them, but holy crap did they shortchange these. Taste-wise they're not terribly different, but the smaller portion size makes it harder to justify the $5 price tag.
ReplyDeleteI had my wife pick some up three Fridays in a row. I wanted to switch from my usual oatmeal raisin and others. Well, just ate three or four and like others have said, the size is bothering me which is why I ended up here. When I say this you can take it to the bank, “Nabisco, kiss my butt, I won’t be buying these again“. In fact, I may not buy the Nabisco cookies again as this shrinking 3x is quite insulting to the consumer.
ReplyDeleteOh, if you’re debating on whether to quit, as I just did, Google “hornets laying eggs in (all) figs”. It certainly put me off my newtons.
Newtons too small now
ReplyDeleteBest comment ever.
DeleteWell.... I'm glad I'm not nuts. Just got a package for the first time in years and was shocked at the size. I remember them being nearly the size of my palm! What the heck Nabisco! It's been over a decade since the first post here, and obviously the N doesn't plan to do a thing about it. So... guess I'll try to find a competitor or better yet, make my own ;)
ReplyDeleteStill taste pretty decent but only bought them for my son to try. He didn’t like them. I used to eat these as a kid. I do not like the smaller size and the packaging. Remove all the horrible oils and soy lecithin. They are pure poison and a depopulation ingredient. Sulfites??? Come on Nabisco get these poisons out of our food. Needless to say I won’t be buying your Newtons ever again.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have found this page. I bought a pack of Strawberry Newtons this afternoon . . . never again on the strawberry . . .but it gets worse. Not only is the package way smaller than it was a year or so ago and the priced inflated to almost $5.00, but when you pull the resealable tab, you're looking at bare naked cookies. OMG . . . what did they do with the two individual protective sleeves? What's to stop some maniac from pulling the resealable tab and adding unspeakable ingredients to the cookies and resealing the package? This is insane. Anybody remember the Tylenol murders of 1982?
ReplyDeleteYes, update. 1/5/2023. I am appalled yesterday. The cookies are smaller even again, AND, the box is shorter than it was even last year, AND, it was not even full. They left out a row ot two cookies, BUT, could have actually fit four more cookies in the box. WORST YET, it was $5.69. Signed, "62 years fig newton fan"
ReplyDeleteI just had about 6 of these midget fig newtons.what mistake horrible tiny expensive things.
ReplyDeleteMy issue is not just the size. The texture of the cake is different and the filling is blander and the seeds are gone. This is an entirely different cookie from my childhood and not for the better. I will do some research into other Newton similar cookies. I know Paul Newman has one. There are probably others.
ReplyDeleteTWELVE YEARS LATER and Nabisco has only doubled down on their shrinkage decisions!! It feels silly to get upset over this snack but seriously, come on! I remember the packaging being sizeable and hard to finish as others have mentioned. I picked some up at Wal-Mart and… holy moly. I kid you not, this little thing is the size of my hand. And I don’t have large hands by any means. And yes the price is still way too high for what we’re getting!! The flavor itself is not even worth paying for, either. All in all, extremely disappointed. Will not be purchasing again. But glad there are others out there who noticed this injustice and are indignant with me! Because what a load of crap!
ReplyDeleteI whole heartedly agree, no more Nabisco Fig Newtons for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Pretty soon they'll be the size of an M&M and still charge us the same price.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing worse than the shrinking fig newton, is the ever expanding B.S from Nabisco!!! Corporate greed gone wild!
ReplyDeleteIt's not the size that bothers me, rather it's the dry bland cake surrounding an unimpressive filling. So sad. It was a good cookie in its day.
ReplyDeleteNabisco is gone, like Kraft. Mondelēz is the behemoth that owns it all…check it out on Wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteIt’s definitely not the same product! Smaller for sure, but the cake is drier and the filling was kinda sandy feeling in the mouth. I ate one and will be throwing the rest away. Downright unpleasant.
ReplyDelete