‘I switched to store brands’: Sam’s Club shopper buys bag of Cheetos Puffs. Then she opens up the bag
A Sam’s Club customer is going viral on TikTok after she alleged that certain Frito Lay products, namely Cheetos Puffs, are the latest to embrace shrinkflation.
User @savagesdcountrygirl said that she recently returned home after grocery shopping at Sam’s Club. But she was less than pleased with her purchase, specifically a family-sized bag of Cheetos Puffs that she bought.
@savagesdcountrygirl said she planned on using the large bag to make lunches. Once she opened it, though, she said she noticed that half the bag was filled with air vs. chips.
“Look, that’s theft,” the content creator said. “[Expletive] inflation. I hate these [expletive] corporations. What a [expletive] scam.”
The Cheetos bag, she noted, was “not even half-full.” What’s worse, she said that the weight of the packaged product was less than the weight listed on the label. As of Monday, @savagesdcountrygirl’s video ripping into Cheetos and Frito-Lay amassed 114,000 views.
What’s up with this customer’s Cheetos bag?
In a series of follow-up videos, @savagesdcountrygirl dismissed some commenters who said the amount of Cheetos in each bag matches the package’s weight.
“If it goes by weight, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to cut the size of the packaging?” she asked in one post. She clarified, too, that her anger was a result of a “scam of the price for less of the actual product.”
Then, in another clip, she weighed the Cheetos bag. She then documented herself using a food scale to measure the bag, which was 14.3 ounces. But the bag itself noted that it should’ve contained 15.25 ounces.
“Where is the whole other ounce that we’re missing?” @savagesdcountrygirl asked. Even after cutting off the excess packaging, the Cheetos bag still fell short.
“Corporate fucking greed,” she wrote in the text overlay of one of her clips. “Scumbags. No consequences.”
Shrinkflation hits popular chip brands
Shrinkflation is the practice of companies selling less product for the same price. And it’s wide-ranging. In recent months, various content creators said that everything from hair care products to fast food is getting smaller and pricier.
Notably, chips and other snacks have been called out for shrinkflation as well.
In October, a shopper at BJs said she opened a bag of Cape Cod potato chips that was noticeably vacant. She said there were only four chips inside. A disgruntled Doritos fan found himself in the same predicament in September 2020. According to his video, he bought a small bag that only contained five pieces.
Brands are taking wind of these complaints, though. In October, PepsiCo, which owns Doritos, Lay’s, Ruffles, and Tostitos chips, announced that it would put more chips in some bags as a way to placate customers. These “bonus” bags contained 20% more chips for the same price as standard bags but were only available in select locations.
@savagesdcountrygirl Corrupt corporation greed they should be sued
♬ original sound - Country girl
Viewers encourage the woman to shop local
In the comments of @savagesdcountrygirl’s TikTok video, several users said they have better luck buying non-name brands.
“Aldi has good cheese puffs,” one woman suggested. “Full bags and clear bags so you can see. My kids love them for lunch.”
“I buy the ones at Dollar Tree,” another shared. “They taste the same, cost $1.25, and the bag is FULL.”
“I switched to store brands,” a third viewer said.
Others said that the exorbitant price of chips caused them to stop buying them.
“I don’t buy any of this anymore,” one user shared. “Walking away from all junk food.”
“Haven’t bought a bag of clips in years,” another wrote.
“I quit buying them,” a third viewer echoed.
The majority of viewers encouraged their fellow TikTok users to take a stand and boycott companies that embrace shrinkflation. Their logic was as follows: If people stop buying them, corporations will be forced to react.
“If people stop buying the items that are a rip off then it will force them to change,” one viewer recommended.
“Nothing will change unless we come together,” another affirmed.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @savagesdcountrygirl via TikTok comment, to Frito Lay through email, and to Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club, through its online contact form.
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