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Shrinkflation, when brands make their products smaller, often undetectably so, and charge the same price, has struck a nerve with politicians in France. “C’est scandaleux” is how French finance minister Bruno Le Maire described the practice, and in December France submitted a draft decree to the European Commission that would require supermarkets to alert shoppers with labels or signage when products have been shrinkflated.
Now the opprobrium is coming from major politicians on our shores.
On Super Bowl Sunday, as Americans shoved snacks—including some that have been shrinkflated—into their gaping maws, The White House released a video of President Joe Biden decrying shrinkflation.
“Some companies are trying to pull a fast one by shrinking the products little by little and hoping you won’t notice,” Biden said. “Give me a break. The American public is tired of being played for suckers.” (Coincidently, at least one brand of suckers, Werther’s Original Caramel Hard Candies, has been shrinkflated.)
Arrayed on a table in the video are products that have been shrinkflated, including Oreos, Doritos, Tostitos, and products that don’t end in “os,” such as Goldfish, Gatorade, and Wheat Thins.
While France’s proposed law requires notifying shoppers that products have been shrunk, Biden’s approach is less legislative and more like the guy on his porch shooing kids out of his yard.
“I’m calling on companies to put a stop to this,” he said. “Let’s make sure businesses do the right thing, now.”
Joe problemo? In December, Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, issued a report about shrinkflation, an example of “greedflation,” the report stated.
“Greedflation, when corporations use inflation as cover to raise prices and increase their own profits, has been a significant contributor to rising costs for American families over the past few years,” the report stated.
But conservative critics responding to Biden’s video saw shrinkflation not as greed or opportunism by brands but rather as brands coping with inflation, for which they claim to hold the president responsible.