Via iStockphoto / @bettyspaghetti55 TikTok
A can of Pringles was half-empty for one woman. Here's whether it's a fluke or if shrinkflation is a potential cause.
When opening a can of chips, most customers expect a somewhat satisfying experience. A full bag, or rather, a full can, is supposed to await them. But one woman had quite the opposite experience—even taking her Pringles can to the scale just to see how duped she was.
Content creator Nicole (@bettyspaghetti55), who normally posts fluid art content, posted a video that received more than 150,000 views. In it, she analyzes and weighs a can of Pringles. Her discovery? “We should have 5.5 ounces … We’re not even at … 2.31 ounces, and that says 5.5 ounces,” she says.
Theories
A standard container can hold 12.3 ounces of chips, but the company only packs each can with around 5.5 ounces of product. Unfortunately, Nicole didn’t even get the bare minimum.
According to her commenters, she accidentally ran headfirst into a manufacturing issue and shrinkflation at the same time.
“Uhhh…are they counting the can as weight?” One commenter asked. “I wonder if we all started bringing underweight items back and [were] fully honest about the return reason, would the grocery stores start pressuring the manufacturers? Loooooove me a little well intentioned chaos!”
Nicole replied, “We need to all complain if we have the time. What we allow is what will continue. These companies make way too much money year after year to be playing with us like this!”
Another commenter said, “They have to change the weight if they’re filling with less product.”
Have Pringles Reduced The Chip Size?
While viewers had a number of plausible theories for why Nicole had so few chips in her Pringles can, online sources suggest a more sinister reduction in Pringles’ overall product quantity. According to other Pringles customers’ own sleuthing, it’s not crumbling chips or the can itself; it’s the chip size that’s reduced.
An article from The Scroller claims that the size of Pringles has diminished in recent years, with the publication giving customers a side-by-side comparison between an old can of Pringles, which had a noticeably larger chip, and a new can of Pringles, which looked smaller by comparison.
On Reddit, users have similar claims. One user posted a photo of a Pringles chip, writing, “Haven’t bought a tube in a few months and noticed they’re tiny compared to before!”
Even more Redditors did side-by-side comparisons between old Pringles chips and new ones in the comment section, resulting in a consensus. It appeared as though Pringles reduced the chip size. They stated there was no added benefit or gain, such as increased chip quantity, for the consumer to enjoy.
“Yeah, so I just buy big bags of crisps by the gram now. Cheaper, often nicer too. I do miss Texas BBQ tho,” one Redditor said.
Another added, “wow those are seriously tiny. I’ve only been buying cheaper brands, and while they are also adding more and more air space to a chip designed specifically to not need air space for protection, they are at least keeping the chip at a size that feels normal pringle sized.”
@bettyspaghetti55 Welp, #shrinkflation has hit @Pringles. Y’all should be ashamed! #latestagecapitalism #pringles #xyzbca
BroBible has reached out to Nicole via TikTok direct message and Kellanova, the parent company of Pringles, via email.