Here We Downsize Again – Summer 2020 – Mouse Print* (2024)

FAQs

Here We Downsize Again – Summer 2020 – Mouse Print*? ›

This time around, maybe because parties are getting smaller on account of COVID-19, Lay's is chipping away at the party size bag shrinking it from 15.25 ounces to 13 ounces.

This time around, maybe because parties are getting smaller on account of COVID-19, Lay's is chipping away at the party size bag shrinking it from 15.25 ounces to 13 ounces.

What happened? It's called shrinkflation and it's the process by which brands reduce the amount of product they sell to you so as not to have to increase its price in the face of inflation (it should be clarified that sometimes they do it too, although there is no inflation, to increase their profit margins).

And confirmed cases of shrinking products at grocery stores have been popping up all over. For instance, if you buy a bag of Doritos, expect about five fewer chips. Frito-Lay reportedly confirmed that they dropped the weight of bags from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces.

Frito-Lay confirmed it reduced the weight of a regular bag of Doritos from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces, which comes out to roughly five fewer chips.

Apparently, the brand changed the Lay's Flamin' Hot chip recipe year, which was not well received. In fact, 23,000 fans supported a petition to restore the chips to their original form. According to the Change.org petition, Lay's Flamin' Hot chips "gave its niche audience everything they were looking for.

The Frito-Lay brand changed the formula for the flavor and was met with great displeasure from those that loved the flavor. Fans that tried the new formula voiced that the chip tasted more like “Spiced Lime.”

More On: snacks

It turns out, that empty space in your chip bag isn't just air — it's Nitrogen gas, which is meant to stop the chips from breaking in the package as well as expel air, which actually turns the chips stale. There's even a name for the emptiness — “functional slack-fill.”

Salty snacks can make you feel hungrier since they're chock full of salt (a standard 1-ounce serving of potato chips packs about 170 milligrams of sodium), which can be pretty dehydrating and confuse your body into feeling hungry when it's really thirsty.

What Is Shrinkflation? No, you're not just imagining it—that bag of Doritos has fewer chips than it used to. A bag that used to weigh 9.75 ounces is now 9.25 ounces, containing about 5 fewer chips, according to a spokesperson from Frito-Lay—the parent company of Doritos—who confirmed the change to Quartz.

Did Doritos bags get smaller? ›

In the latest instance of companies downsizing their products chip, giant Frito-Lay revealed last month it had cut down the number of chips in its bags of Doritos. 'Inflation is hitting everyone,' a company rep told Quartz of its decision to trim the size of its 9.75ounce bag of the cheesy snack to 9.25 ounces.

In any bag of chips, potatoes make up about 60% to 70% of the overall cost, Mr. Lock said. Cooking oil accounts for another 20% to 25%. The remaining costs are down to flavoring, cooking and packaging.

As an alternative to price spikes, snack brands—including Doritos, Gatorade, and Wheat Thins—are simply making products smaller. As Food & Wine reports, "shrinkflation," as it's been officially dubbed by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, isn't exactly new. It's been around for at least a decade.

Doritos Ketchup and Spicy Mustard have now returned to store shelves nationwide but will only be available through July 2023. Doritos Ketchup, the brand said, “is based on Canadian-style ketchup with a tangy and subtly sweet taste.”

The very first Doritos were sort of plain-flavored. American consumers found the chips kind of plain without sauce, so Frito-Lay gave them a sort of Mexican seasoning called “Taco” in 1968. What we think of as the “original” flavor, nacho cheese, debuted in 1974.

Lay's Potato Chips, Classic, Party Size, 15.25 oz - Walmart.com.

Amazon.com: Lay's Classic Potato Chips, Party Size! (15.25 Ounce)

Companies that don't want to appear like they are raising prices due to inflation, shrink product volume instead. It may seem like a smart move for companies to use shrinkflation instead of obvious price inflation. However, they run the risk of losing customers after that first airy bag of potato chips.

(15.25 Ounce)