If you’ve bought anything by Frito-Lay lately- including bags of Doritos– you may have found that it feels a bit lighter. When you’re sharing with a family of four, that could make or break your snack time! Maybe you were wondering if there were less chips, and if that’s the case, you’re spot on. Frito-Lay confirmed to Quarts that they’ve downsized their bags due to inflation. And they’re not the only company to do so.
“Inflation is hitting everyone … we took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips,” a representative from Frito-Lay said.
The term for what they’ve been doing it called “Shrinkflation” where they try to pass the costs of the inflation of manufacturing onto the consumer by packaging less product without raising the price. That way you think you’re getting the same amount, but you’re really getting less.
Does this…happen often?!
Other companies that have been practicing this since it was confirmed to be happening in March of this year are ones like Bounty and Wheat Thins. Bounty is coming with less sheets than before while Wheat Thins has about 20 crackers missing.
“A box of original Wheat Thins used to be sold in Family Size 16 oz. boxes and is now packaged as 14 oz. at the same price. That’s a 14% price increase. The reduced fat version of Family Size followed, going from 14.5 oz. to 12.5 oz. – a 16% price increase,” Quartz reports.
Also, according to the FDA’s rules, companies cannot print any misinformation. That means that if you buy something that says it’s 16oz and it’s really 14, you could have a lawsuit on your hands. In fact, one of the most famous lawsuits concerning food happened in 2021 when someone sued McCormick because they were selling less black pepper than containers advertised. Claimants were paid $2.5 million to resolve that lawsuit.
