Skimpflation is robbing you daily: Welcome to the great squeeze on India’s middle class

Somewhere between a pack of popcorn at 35,000 feet and a paneer tikka made with fake dairy, something changed — and we barely noticed.

In a LinkedIn post, IIM alumnus Lokesh Ahuja puts a name to a trend many middle-class Indians have quietly accepted: skimpflation. It’s not about getting less for the same price — it’s about getting cheaper inputs, downgraded quality, and hollowed-out value, all while prices remain untouched.

"On a flight yesterday, I realized something," Ahuja writes. “Inflation on the ground may be ‘record low’, but it’s sky high in the sky. The snack that once was salted cashews and roasted almonds is now rice crackers and popcorn.” The price hasn't changed — but the product has.

This isn’t just shrinkflation, where packaging or portion sizes quietly reduce. Skimpflation is subtler. It’s swapping the original product with something less — not in size, but in substance. “Not less. Just cheaper,” Ahuja points out.

Restaurants now use analogue paneer or oil-based spreads in place of real dairy. Uber rides cost the same but often come with older vehicles, no AC, and worn-out interiors — especially in cities like Bengaluru. The name of the service hasn’t changed. The fare hasn’t changed. But the experience has.

Ahuja argues this invisible downgrade isn’t tracked by inflation metrics — yet it affects daily life, especially for India’s middle class. “We are extremely price anchored. If the MRP stays the same, we assume the value is the same. Brands know this,” he writes. “So instead of touching the price, they touch everything around it.”

Even legacy FMCG brands have leaned into this quiet shift. Parle-G spawned Parle-G Gold. Dairy Milk created Dairy Milk Silk. The originals still exist but often feel like pale reflections of what they once were. The premium line moves higher. The baseline slips lower.

The result? A silent erosion of quality across products and services — unnoticed by data, deeply felt by consumers.

“This hits the Indian middle class the hardest,” Ahuja writes. “And the strange part is how normal it has started to feel.”

Because when everything looks the same but feels worse — you don’t always notice you’re paying more for less.