In a viral TikTok video, a customer called out Loblaws grocery store for falsely advertising how much its bags of chips weigh.
In the clip, JD (@joceforce, also known as the Scrunchie Queen) shows that a bag of Loblaws generic ridged potato chips is marked as weighing 200g.
The TikToker noticed that the bag either wasn’t as full or as heavy as she expected it to be, so she took matters into her own hands and investigated if the listed weight was actually accurate.
Turns out her suspicions were correct.
In the video, JD sets the bag of chips on an electric scale and the number that comes up in LED lights is consistently about 100 grams—half of the 200g advertised. The first time she weighs the bag it ends up being about 115g, and the second time, when she positions it more centrally on the scale it’s 103g.
“Shopping at the cheapest store, buying the cheapest brands so I can keep living indoors,” JD wrote in the text overlay. “And you’re stealing half my darn chips?”
@joceforce Thanks @Lowblawscanada @nonamebrands @No Frills for making life harder when its already rough, as you do. I hope you’re enjoying your billions #eattherich ♬ WTF (feat. Amber Van Day) – HUGEL
The video has more than 215,000 views and over 580 comments as of Tuesday morning.
In the caption, she called out Loblaws and its generic food brand “for making life harder when its already rough, as you do.”
“I hope you’re enjoying your billions,” JD added.
The shrink in size, despite being the same price, is part of what many shoppers call “shrinkflation.” This term is a combination of the words shrink and inflation. Combined, it refers to how some products shrink in size or quantity while maintaining the same price, so you pay more for less.
This is usually done to offset rising production costs or maintain profit margins when faced with competition.
Some people have speculated that the rise in shrinkflation is related to difficult economic times.
In the last year, Americans have been worried about the possibility of a recession as inflation loomed heavy over their households and day-to-day bills and living expenses. At the same time, inflation has let up, experts are saying that the probability of a recession is dwindling, and the economy and employment rates have remained steady, USA Today reported.
Still, several commenters said they’ve noticed shrinkflation among other food staples.
“Okay I don’t have a scale but I made Kraft dinner for the first time in like 5 years and I swear the entire box never used to fit in a small bowl,” a top comment, with more than 1,000 likes, read.
“They did this with their frozen fruit too,” a person pointed out.
“It’s part of the whole shrinkage thing. Tim [Hortons] sandwiches are same price but smaller. drinks, cookies, everything,” another said.
Others urged JD to try and get her money back.
“Stores have the cost per 100g on price tags. Show up to the customer help desk with the chips and your scale and have them mark it down to that,” a commenter suggested.
One person shared that their bag was at the correct weight, so JD may have just gotten a dud.
However, the Daily Dot recently reported on another customer who bought a bag from the same generic brand which was also lighter than advertised.
The Daily Dot reached out to JD for comment via Instagram direct message and to Loblaws via email.
Update 1:21pm CT Sept. 14: In an email to the Daily Dot, a Loblaws spokesperson said the company has reached out to JD.
“The product as pictured absolutely does not live up to our standards. We’ve reached out to the customer for more information so that we can look into it and figure out what happened,” they shared. “Our no name satisfaction guarantee allows customers to return or exchange (if they don’t have the receipt) any products that don’t meet their expectations.”
