Complaint Review: Dannon Yogurt - Everywhere Nationwide

After much thought, I wish I hadn't commented about Dannon Yogurt at all because after reading all the other complaints I've come to the conclusion all you Ripoff complainers are just petty whiners.  The manufacturers have no civic responsibility to please you guys or anyone.  Every decision a corporation makes is about the bottom line - profit.  While I may not like their decisions, it's really none of my business, because I can take my Yogurt business elsewhere, or eat something else.  If they lose business, they either change (fix the problems) or go out of business.  Chances are if they lose enough business they will fix the problem, if .....they can still make a profit.

So if you don't  like the way Dannon is doing business, go shop elsewhere and quite whining for ___sake!

(violin playing a whining tune in the background)

Dabeas

The ice cream nonsense is the most blatant example of this kind of corporate chicanery.

The 64 ounce 2 quart container suddenly became 1.75 quarts! Then 1.5 quarts!

As though nobody would notice!

I never buy that stuff anyway unless they're on sale 2 for 1, but in just a few years, 1/2 quart disappeared from the containers.

I'm surprised they haven't downsized the quarts to like 3/4 of a quart, or the pints to 12oz.

As for Dannon, I'd save the ripoff complaints for their Activia line. What the dad-banged heck is Bifidus Regularis supposed to be? They just made up their own bacteria as far as I'm concerned.

Hell, I can do that. How about Bifidus Ripoffreportarus? Read a days worth of reports here and you're guaranteed to be regular!

And Jamie Curtis is a very annoying spokesperson. I'd rather see the colon lady from the laxative commercials.

I've been a Dannon Fruit in the Bottom yogurt consumer for 40 years and my complaint is not about reducing the amount filled per container (although I wish they would not do that and just raise the price), but its about a noticeable change in the texture of the yogurt.  It seems that Dannon has done something to fluff up the contents, like emulsify by adding air.  This ruins the taste for me and I don't like the texture change.  So, I've been buying Giant Foods brand yogurt that feels and taste's like the old Dannon formula.

I normally figure filing a complaint is a waste of time because the only thing that will change a company's policy is to hurt their pocket book by not buying their products anymore, which is what I've  always done.  For some reason this morning while eating my Giant strawberry fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt I commented to my wife about how much the Giant brand taste like the old Dannon that I decided to find a forum on line and see if anyone else had complained.  It's seems none else complained about the texture change,  I guess my palette is more sensitive.

A similar thing happened with Duncan Heinz Blueberry Streusel muffin mix.   They changed all their muffin mixes to whole grain, which totally changed the flavor and ruined my grandkid's favorite breakfast treat.  I no longer buy Duncan Heinz products either.

Dabeas

""On the capitalist side, you have constantly increasing production costs and competition from other manufacturers. It costs millions of dollars just to re-tool the yogurt machines or build new machines for each new product or package design. It takes several years to recoupe those costs. It wasn't an easy decision to loose the 8oz cup after so many years, but was absolutely necessary to remain competitive in this economy. Please start enjoying Dannon again. It's good for you and good for American workers."" ---------------------- I have a problem with the above comment on many levels--where do they get their info? First of all, I've worked in marketing and manufacturing for many years and I can say from a capitalist's perspective, the minimal costs (and they are minimal) of re-tooling machines (in the case of yogurt, it's a minor calibration, really) and re-configuring their outsourced packaging supply is recouped in the first two months of production, if that. Very little changed on the marketing end. The profit margin of decreasing the cup size from 8 oz. to 6 oz. is exponential. I assure you, this decision was based solely on fattening the bottom line, as increasing the price at the P.O.P. to recoup current market losses would have resulted in an increase of around 4%, mirroring the rise in the consumer price index--that's about $.03 per cup. The yogurt buying public would have absorbed that without much consideration. With the decreased size, profit margin rose upwards of 30% or more with the decrease in actual product, shipping costs per piece, and packaging material. It is definitely a rip-off as is the newer Ice-cream sizes, and I have taken to making my own yogurt and ice-cream. It's economical, incredibly easy, and results in a better product with more live cultures than are found in commercially made yogurts, to which, Dannon's count is quite low. Dannon also adds alot of dyes and artificial ingreadiants. Also, the sugar content in their fruit-on-the-bottom product is among the highest in the industry. Dannon is not--repeat--not all that healthy of a product.

""On the capitalist side, you have constantly increasing production costs and competition from other manufacturers. It costs millions of dollars just to re-tool the yogurt machines or build new machines for each new product or package design. It takes several years to recoupe those costs. It wasn't an easy decision to loose the 8oz cup after so many years, but was absolutely necessary to remain competitive in this economy. Please start enjoying Dannon again. It's good for you and good for American workers."" ---------------------- I have a problem with the above comment on many levels--where do they get their info? First of all, I've worked in marketing and manufacturing for many years and I can say from a capitalist's perspective, the minimal costs (and they are minimal) of re-tooling machines (in the case of yogurt, it's a minor calibration, really) and re-configuring their outsourced packaging supply is recouped in the first two months of production, if that. Very little changed on the marketing end. The profit margin of decreasing the cup size from 8 oz. to 6 oz. is exponential. I assure you, this decision was based solely on fattening the bottom line, as increasing the price at the P.O.P. to recoup current market losses would have resulted in an increase of around 4%, mirroring the rise in the consumer price index--that's about $.03 per cup. The yogurt buying public would have absorbed that without much consideration. With the decreased size, profit margin rose upwards of 30% or more with the decrease in actual product, shipping costs per piece, and packaging material. It is definitely a rip-off as is the newer Ice-cream sizes, and I have taken to making my own yogurt and ice-cream. It's economical, incredibly easy, and results in a better product with more live cultures than are found in commercially made yogurts, to which, Dannon's count is quite low. Dannon also adds alot of dyes and artificial ingreadiants. Also, the sugar content in their fruit-on-the-bottom product is among the highest in the industry. Dannon is not--repeat--not all that healthy of a product.

""On the capitalist side, you have constantly increasing production costs and competition from other manufacturers. It costs millions of dollars just to re-tool the yogurt machines or build new machines for each new product or package design. It takes several years to recoupe those costs. It wasn't an easy decision to loose the 8oz cup after so many years, but was absolutely necessary to remain competitive in this economy. Please start enjoying Dannon again. It's good for you and good for American workers."" ---------------------- I have a problem with the above comment on many levels--where do they get their info? First of all, I've worked in marketing and manufacturing for many years and I can say from a capitalist's perspective, the minimal costs (and they are minimal) of re-tooling machines (in the case of yogurt, it's a minor calibration, really) and re-configuring their outsourced packaging supply is recouped in the first two months of production, if that. Very little changed on the marketing end. The profit margin of decreasing the cup size from 8 oz. to 6 oz. is exponential. I assure you, this decision was based solely on fattening the bottom line, as increasing the price at the P.O.P. to recoup current market losses would have resulted in an increase of around 4%, mirroring the rise in the consumer price index--that's about $.03 per cup. The yogurt buying public would have absorbed that without much consideration. With the decreased size, profit margin rose upwards of 30% or more with the decrease in actual product, shipping costs per piece, and packaging material. It is definitely a rip-off as is the newer Ice-cream sizes, and I have taken to making my own yogurt and ice-cream. It's economical, incredibly easy, and results in a better product with more live cultures than are found in commercially made yogurts, to which, Dannon's count is quite low. Dannon also adds alot of dyes and artificial ingreadiants. Also, the sugar content in their fruit-on-the-bottom product is among the highest in the industry. Dannon is not--repeat--not all that healthy of a product.

Remember buying half gallons of ice cream and ACTUALLY getting 64oz?? Look at the cartons now----a half gallon of many, if not all brands is now 56oz!! What??? But its still advertised as a half gallon!!! But its not. Manufacturers do lots of goofy stuff and consumers just shrug their shoulders.......

I use to buy a store brand yogurt all the time. It was good and inexpensive. Then one day I went to the store and immediatley noticed the container was smaller. How can anyone not notice when something they buy all the time is smaller, is beyond me. Anyway, I checked the price and sure enough it was the same price! This all comes down to companies trying to make more money. Like James, I too have stopped buying yogurt. I refuse to pay the 8oz price for the 6oz size. I'll get my calcium elsewhere. Maybe people like the smaller size because they think its cute. 8oz of yogurt isn't that much. A grown person should have no problem eating it all. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one boycotting yogurt! Way to go James!

Smaller Size Yogurt - Same Price - Label says 6 oz of product - Product weighs 6.2 oz (allow tollerance for packaging). No one is ripping off anyone. In Fact - I understand it quite easily. Prices needed to go up - people may have budgets - Either up the price - or lower the portion. Hmm... I don't care if this makes sense or not - its there choice how they package their yogurt - and its your choice whether to buy it or not. Last - and most important for their reputation - They are not mislabelling their product - and therefore are not breaking any laws. I appreciate your candor and enthusiasm but you might want to double check the facts before you post on the internet statements that cannot be substantiated as facts.

but it is not proper to say the size is 6 ounces and only provide 4 ounces. I doubt that they are doing that. If they are, it is reportable. Personally, I will no longer be buying Dannon Yogurt. Breyers is still sold in 8 ounce containers. 6 ounces is not enough for me and I don't expect to have to change my preference just because the maker wants to make more profit and is afraid to up the price.

I used to work at the Dannon yogurt facility in Ft Worth, TX. It's a great company with pride filled union employees who are truly dedicated to doing a good quality job. I talked to an HR person about this issue and was told that surveys showed the 8 oz cup was too big for most people and they often didn't finish the entire contents. Oftentimes, these products were consumed by children and NORMAL sized, health conscious adults; especially women. I am a 170 lb man and often found 8 oz just a little bit too big. If you look at packaged products in other countries such as Japan and France, you'll find that most products are much smaller. You'll also find that most people have smaller waistlines than Americans. On the capitalist side, you have constantly increasing production costs and competition from other manufacturers. It costs millions of dollars just to re-tool the yogurt machines or build new machines for each new product or package design. It takes several years to recoupe those costs. It wasn't an easy decision to loose the 8oz cup after so many years, but was absolutely necessary to remain competitive in this economy. Please start enjoying Dannon again. It's good for you and good for American workers.

I've read about this time and time again. Sigh. Ok, here's the deal: consumer research has shown that people are more willing to accept smaller packages of items as opposed to a price increase. Hence, the smaller portion. You cannot expect to pay the same price for something indefinitely. Eventually, prices do go up. Sorry, its a fact of life.

If you take time to read manufacturer coupons you will see that they will denote both sizes of their product, meaning the old and new size, ex; Ketsup 14.5oz or 16.0oz. This accounts for any stores who still have both the old and new product size. While I am not crazy about it either, it is a fact most companies are doing this.

This practice is not only NOT illegal, but has been done with many, many products. Instead of raising their prices, many companies will just decrease the size of their product. I must admit that this is pretty clever considering most folks don't pay much attention to the size of the product they are buying and don't notice the difference. Save your outrage for something important, whydontcha?