Heinz’ popular beans are now 50 percent beans as opposed to 51 percent previously.
This means a 4g reduction in beans - or around 10 fewer - per Heinz Beanz 415g can.
These are now priced at £1.40 per can as opposed to £1 which it was last year, The Sun reported.
Experts weighed in on the food company's change and what this means for loyal Heinz Beanz buyers.
Retail Reflections’ Andrew Busby said that the reduction “may appear to be marginal but that’s to miss the point”.
He suggested that the popularity of Heinz Beanz and the sheer enormity of tins being sold creates a big impact.
Andrew continued: "When up to 2.5million cans a day are involved, for Heinz this suddenly becomes more than a little significant.”
Retail analyst Sophie Lund-Yates of Hargreaves Lansdown claimed that upping sauce content “feels like an obvious way to upset customers”.
She asserted that most customers prefer less sauce and that Heinz does not seem to be “shouting” about the change, although recipe alterations are common.
A Kraft Heinz spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “As stated on the label, our Heinz Baked Beans contain 50 per cent beans, versus 51 percent previously.The 1 percent reduction equates to approximately three less beans per can, on average.
“This is down to the moisture content of the bean, which varies with each annual crop. Beans that have less moisture will swell more when heated and this takes up more room in the can – hence having to use slightly less beans.
“It’s our absolute priority that the quality, taste, and texture remain consistent for our consumers, and so with each new crop, we do have to ever so slightly recalibrate the ratio of beans to sauce, so we don’t end up with a product that’s too thin or thick. The weight of the product does not change and is still 415g.
“It is also worth highlighting that from an ingredients point of view, it costs us more to make the sauce than it does to buy beans, so it doesn’t make commercial sense to reduce the amount of beans in each can. It’s simply nature at play and could change again next year depending on the crop. This is very common in foods containing plants and other natural ingredients.”
In other Heinz news, the food company has also settled debate on another popular product.
Just last month, Heinz UK took to Twitter with the controversial statement: “FYI: Ketchup. goes. in. the. Fridge!!!”
A subsequent poll found that of 13,178 people, 63.2 percent of Heinz Tomato Ketchup fans keep the condiment in the fridge, while 36.8 percent go for the cupboard.
