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POTATO chip lovers will soon have a longstanding grievance resolved thanks to Tostitos and Ruffles.
Both brands are owned by parent company PepsiCo, which confirmed the change this week.
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Starting this fall, PepsiCo will be adding more chips to bags after complaints over them not being filled adequately, per what a spokesperson told CNN.
Tostitos and Ruffles will specifically feature “bonus” bags with around 20% more chips added for the same price point as a standard bag.
Additionally, the brands will have two additional smaller bags added to their variety packs, bringing the count to 18 instead of 16.
Again, the same pricing will remain, and the extra chip deal will only be available at select retailers.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta assured investors that the move was perfectly timed with the football season during a recent earnings call.
“It’s the football season. There’s a lot of gatherings,” he said.
Complaints over fewer chips in bags as part of shrinkflation, an economic term referring to when companies reduce the size or quantity of an item but charge the same price, have been going on for years.
Consumer protection lawyer and founder of Consumer World, Edgar Dworsky, did a study in 2021 that uncovered shocking data about Tostitos and Ruffles.
DEALS DOWNSIZED
Dworsky’s findings showed Tostitos’ Hint of Guacamole chips bag shrank by a full ounce from 12 to 11, and the Hint of Lime fell from 13 to 11.
Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion chip bag also quietly decreased by a half-ounce in 2013, per the study.
The lawyer was relieved at PepsiCo’s decision to add more chips in October.
“It’s about time,” he told CNN.
“Chip lovers have suffered through years of downsizing.”
American shoppers, in general, have been buying fewer snacks due to inflation rates and the cost of living.
CPI and Inflation explained
The Consumer Price Index is how the federal government measures inflation.
Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shares its CPI numbers with detailed breakdowns of which items have changing prices.
The CPI shows the amount prices rose or fell over the previous 12 months.
The calculation process is complex, but measures the changes in price for urban consumers, those living or working in an American metropolitan area.
While that does not cover everyone, it measures prices for about 90% of the population.
They either have stopped purchasing them altogether or have reached for more affordable private-label chips from certain retailers.
Overall snack sales in the United States dropped by 0.5% during the most recent fiscal quarter compared to the same time last year, per data from Bank of America.
PepsiCo’s snack sales also saw a higher dip of 1%.
Not to mention, the average cost of a bag of potato chips last month was $6.46, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During the same period in 2020, it was $5.02, a whole $1.44 difference.
CHIP CHANGE
PepsiCo also made another chip move earlier this month.
It will acquire celebrity-backed tortilla chips, taco shells, seasoning, and salsa brand Siete Foods for $1.2 billion.
Siete Foods makes health-conscious products that work with customers’ dietary restrictions.
The deal likely won’t close until the middle of 2025, but it marks another significant move for Pepsi to complete a more nutritious portfolio of brands.
“We look forward to expanding our multicultural portfolio with these incredible products and even more consumers discovering and enjoying Siete,” Laguarta noted in a press release.
