Smart Balance recipe restored after consumer backlash

Conagra Brands has responded to a wave of negative consumer comments on the recipe change for its Smart Balance butter substitute by restoring the product”™s original formula.

Business Insider reported the company switched the ingredients on Smart Balance from 64% vegetable oil to 39% ”“ a company spokesperson claimed this was “to make [it] easier to spread.” However, consumers were not pleased with the change and responded on the Smart Balance with a wave of one-star reviews about the change.

Consumer advocate and blogger Edgar Dworsky called Conagra”™s switch a case of “skimpflation,” which occurs when products are “reformulated in some way, usually with less of the expensive components and often by substituting cheaper ingredients.”