Lucky Star Pilchards slammed for surprising ‘shrinkflation’ claims
South African consumers are exposing what’s inside their Lucky Star Pilchard cans – and the findings are unexpected…
Consumers have slammed Lucky Star after posting photos of their near-empty tinned pilchard cans.
The canned fish brand, a staple in many South African homes and once a favourite of the late former minister Tito Mboweni, now faces heavy criticism.
LUCKY STAR PILCHARDS UNDER FIRE OVER CONTENTS
On the X app, user Pranesh Luckan posted photos of his opened Lucky Star Pilchards can, revealing just three small pieces of fish swimming in a large amount of tomato sauce.
“Guys, I know this is our national tinned fish brand, but what kind of shrinkflation is this? 3 and 1/2 pieces of fish weighing 136g in a 400g can. Is @LuckyStarSA selling pilchards or tomato sauce?” he asked in a tweet that has gone viral.
Another X user – @@_spreadhappines – received just one pilchard in their can.
On its official account, the brand responded to the posts, stating: “We are sorry to hear this – and can assure you that this is not the proper standard that Lucky Star strives to uphold”.
According to Luckan, Lucky Star would also be investigating the production batch of the can.
LESS IS LESS?
In recent years, rising food prices have pushed up the cost of tinned pilchards such as the Lucky Star brand.
However, the Competition Commission’s latest Essential Food Pricing Monitoring (EFPM) report, released earlier this year, showed that pilchards were among the few essential items whose prices dropped slightly. Major retailers now sell a 400-gram can for between R25 and R30.