• by Todd Wasserman , Staff Writer, May 24, 2022

You may have noticed that inflation is creeping up again. A survey this month from Pew Research shows 70% of Americans view inflation as a very big problem for the country. Prices are rising everywhere, but gas prices, now at $4.71 a gallon, are leading the charge.

In light of such inflation, consumer packaged goods companies have two choices: Raise their prices or shrink their products.

A subreddit details the package shrink, identifying:

•  Doritos, which will now has five fewer chips per bag.

•  Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels, which shrunk its bags from 12 oz. to 11.25 oz.

•  Bounty paper towels, which went from 165 sheets to 147 sheets per roll, or 18 fewer uses.

• Wheat Thins, which went from 16 oz. to 14 oz., resulting in 28 fewer crackers per box.

• Gatorade, which replaced its 32 oz. bottle for a 28 oz. bottle at the same price.

A similar round of package shrink hit shoppers in 2008, when Procter & Gamble shrunk the size of its Folger’s Coffee from 13 oz. to 11.3 oz. and introduced a 33.9 oz. can instead of its former 39 oz. can and kept prices the same.

This time around, P&G’s Charmin has reduced its Charmin toilet paper from 244 two-ply sheets from 264 earlier this year. The price has remained the same.

The shrinkflation comes as food prices rose 9.4% in April 2022 over the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was the largest increase since April 1981.