What’s up with these nearly empty Cape Cod chip bags?
This Massachusetts-based TikToker got much less than she bargained for when she opened a single serving-sized bag of Cape Cod potato chips.
The small bag was mostly air, according to a video posted by Gatita (@franangie27) on Friday.
Her vivid demo of Cape Cod’s apparent “Shrinkflation” currently has over 119,000 views and counting.
What’s up with the nearly empty potato chip bags?
In the video, Gatita claims her husband picked up the individual potato chip bags as part of a bulk purchase at BJ’s wholesale grocery chain.
“What you pay for vs. what you get! I can’t believe this!” she exclaims in the video’s caption.
“I grab one [package] because I only want to eat a few of them,” she says, grabbing the packet from a storage bin in her pantry.
“And then the one that I took has literal [sic] four chips inside,” she claims.
She squeezes the unopened bag in her hand, demonstrating that it looks full of air.
“I’m going to open one more. I’m going to show you exactly… You can count it … OK. This one has three,” she says, displaying the contents of the newly opened bag.
“Welcome to America,” she says.
The Daily Dot reached out to Cape Cod Chips and BJ’s via email for statements.
@franangie27 What you pay for vs. what you get! I can’t believe this!
♬ original sound – Gatita 🐱
Shrinkflation strikes again
Sadly, Gatita’s experience appears to be just another example of the rampant shrinkflation that has hit shelves in grocery stores across the nation.
Shrinkflation—maintaining the same price for a product while slightly or significantly changing the serving size—has affected many of America’s favorite food brands.
Some familiar items accused of shrinking include Kraft Mac and Cheese, Tropicana Juice, Kellogg’s cereals, and, yes, potato chips.
The president himself has spoken out against the practice. In March, President Joe Biden addressed the practice in his State of the Union address.
“In fact, the snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot … fewer chips in it. No, I’m not joking. It’s called ‘shrinkflation,’” he says.
Some lawmakers in Congress have proposed legislation labeling the practice “as an unfair or deceptive trade practice,” per the Huffington Post.
How viewers responded
Most viewers felt that Cape Cod owed Gatita an explanation.
Smalls (@jackie_g_x) wrote, “@Cape Cod Chips EXPLAIN YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY!”
Another viewer asked “@Cape Cod Chips this is a joke right? Straight robbery. Fix it.”
“Frito Lay is doing the same thing in Dominican Republic it’s so sad how big companies are taking advantage of their consumers,” another viewer added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Gatita via TikTok comment and messenger for further statement.
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