Cheetos Reduces Portion Size!

[dParis]

I had a hankern' for Crunchy Cheetos while I stopped by the local gas staition. Reaching to the back of the shelf, as I always do to get the freshest package, I pulled out a fresh bag of .99 cent Crunchy Cheetos. But something was different. I've eaten enough of these handy .99 cent snacks to detect the most subtle differences in packaging and also know that the portion size has been 2 7/8 oz. for as long as I can remember.

Sure enough, the newer package net wt. was 2 3/8 oz. compared to the older packages in front with the 2 7/8 oz. portions. A half-ounce less of Cheetos for the same .99 cents. Inflation is hitting close to home! BTW, I bought the older, larger portion knowing that would be the last time my dollar would go so far.

(And yes, I've heard eating Cheetos can turn your junk orange.)

Does anyone have other recent examples of this "sneaky" nickle and diming of the consumer?

 

[Sleepstream]

Let's see:

Some tuna cans are now at 5 oz versus the 6 oz they used to be. Also worth noting is that the cans are not as strong as they used to be. I can push in the sides of the cans now. The lids will now bend if you apply just a little pressure when draining the solids.
Many boxes of pasta are now at 13-14 oz versus 16 oz.
Ice cream companies have always been a culprit of reducing container size.

Purina and other companies are decreasing the amount of kibble in various dog foods by 1-3 lbs.

This has been going on for a while. It angers me, and I usually stop buying that specific product.

Too bad most consumers never notice this.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Does anyone have other recent examples of this "sneaky" nickle and diming of the consumer?

Hmmm....now that I think of it, LAP DANCES have been 0:30 seconds shorter lately. :sad:

Cracker Jack's prizes have turned into a total rip-off.

Bazooka Bubble Gum has gotten smaller...and their Bazooka Joe comics' writing has gone downhill.

Hostess Twinkies "filling" is less creamy and more "granular."

I agree dParee, "they" are getting 'chintzy-er with the consumer by the minute.

 

[Steady Eddy]

Don't blame the company, blame the government. Because of inflation, a company has two choices: they can raise the price or reduce the quantity. It's easy to see why they don't want the 99 cent bag to go over a dollar. So they reduce the amount in the bag. Are they making more than they used to? Not in terms of buying power, so let's look at inflation.

Really, let's look at a stock split. Say Bonanza company has 4 owners: Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. They each have "a share", so they each own 25% (1/4) of the business. Now if Ben gives himself an extra share, he doesn't have twice as much, he has 40% (2/5) of the business. What if he doubles everyone's share? They're still at 25% (2/8 ) despite having more shares!

Same with money. Roughly speaking, if we all had twice as much money, we'd be the same off as before, because the buying power would be cut in half. So what's this have to do with the government? They can legally print money. Say they don't have enough cash to pay a contractor, they can print a few $billion for him. This reduces the buying power of the money you own, so it works like a tax, without the money ever being taken in taxes. If the government was not allowed to print money at will, and some think they shouldn't, your money would retain its buying power. To sum up, don't blame the business, they've got to make a living like everybody else, blame the government for spending money they don't have.

 

[baek57]

really? i memory serves me, they used to be over 3 oz. sucks that they lowering it.

has it at 3.5 oz
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/742/25509.pdf

 

[dParis]

really? i memory serves me, they used to be over 3 oz. sucks that they lowering it.

has it at 3.5 oz
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/742/25509.pdf

Data from FY 2000. Noticed a 20 oz. Pepsi (another guilty pleasure) was .99 cents then compared to $1.30 - $1.60 now. Ahhh, the good ol' days. At least the portion is the same size. With the Cheetos situation, I totally understand lowering the portion size in order to keep the .99 cent price point.

What really cheeses me off is the double whammy - higher prices and lighter portions. Has the Mickey D hamburger gotten smaller? And I believe tacos at Taco Bell are narrower and filled with less "good stuff".

I think I need to cut down on the junk food.

 

[ilovecarlos]

Cheetos reducing portion size????? Someone alert Serena....quick!!!!!!!

 

[Hot Sauce]

F tha po-lice.

 

[El Diablo]

Steady
I believe the money supply is regulated by the governing board of the Federal Reserve, the members of which are appointed but not considered a part of the government.

 

[JohnnyCracker]

Hershey is substituting part of the cocoa butter in their chocolate with vegetable oil. It's true.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121945357145165595-email.html

 

[Steady Eddy]

Steady
I believe the money supply is regulated by the governing board of the Federal Reserve, the members of which are appointed but not considered a part of the government.

According to wikipedia, the federal reserve system is "quasi-public" with private and public features. But let's not let the point get lost in too many details. Cheetos are made by Frito Lay, and Frito Lay is not responsible for inflation. Governments control that by controlling their money supply. An excellent reference for this is Friedman's "Free to Choose". The index has graphs of many nation's money supply increases superimposed on a graph of inflation. They don't line up perfectly, but the correlation is striking and clear. Governments control inflation, it amount to a form of taxation.

 

[LuckyR]

Stop the presses!! Costs rise over time!! And dastardly corporations use "tricks" like putting the ACTUAL WEIGHT of the product right there on the package!!

...don't get out much, eh?

 

[heycal]

Hmmm....now that I think of it, LAP DANCES have been 0:30 seconds shorter lately. :sad:

Cracker Jack's prizes have turned into a total rip-off.

Bazooka Bubble Gum has gotten smaller...and their Bazooka Joe comics' writing has gone downhill.

Hostess Twinkies "filling" is less creamy and more "granular."

I agree dParee, "they" are getting 'chintzy-er with the consumer by the minute.

You need to stop going to Sue's Rendevous on your home from Johnny's pizza.

Bazooka is defintely way smaller than they were in 1971. Same with Hostess cupcakes. Other examples abound. There is much talk in America about how portions are getting larger and larger, but little talk about this dirty dark secret.

Good thread.

 

[superstition]

I found it shocking that about eight years ago Soft Batch cookies at gas stations went from six cookies to four and the price went up. Now, that was abrupt. The package, of course, stayed the same length.

 

[Deuce]

I had a hankern' for Crunchy Cheetos while I stopped by the local gas staition. Reaching to the back of the shelf, as I always do to get the freshest package, I pulled out a fresh bag of .99 cent Crunchy Cheetos. But something was different. I've eaten enough of these handy .99 cent snacks to detect the most subtle differences in packaging and also know that the portion size has been 2 7/8 oz. for as long as I can remember.

Sure enough, the newer package net wt. was 2 3/8 oz. compared to the older packages in front with the 2 7/8 oz. portions. A half-ounce less of Cheetos for the same .99 cents. Inflation is hitting close to home! BTW, I bought the older, larger portion knowing that would be the last time my dollar would go so far.

(And yes, I've heard eating Cheetos can turn your junk orange.)

Does anyone have other recent examples of this "sneaky" nickle and diming of the consumer?

One of the most blatant examples of this was the introduction of the Ritz 'Air' cracker...
Naturally, they replaced substance - cracker - with air. They called this a 'new variety'.
Not only was the weight of the new 'Air' cracker package less than the original Ritz cracker package, but the price was higher - because it was a 'new' product.

An interesting marketing ploy is this recent one:
http://www.diamondshreddies.com/index.php

It was discussed here:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=178663