So I’ve been buying 220g bags of Ruffles potato chips for $4.79 at No Frills (a value-based franchise banner under Loblaws that operates in Ontario). This is one of many products that seems to be towing the line of not going over the $5 threshold.
Now the bags of Ruffles sold in the same store are 200g (almost a 10% reduction in volume) for the same price. I suspect the same applies to other Frito-Lay products. (I noticed the Flammin’ BBQ flavour of Ruffles was weighing in at 190g.)
As we’ve seen with other products, I think the choice of going to 200g from 220g is an intentional number choice that they believe people are less likely to notice than 199g for example.
Shame on Frito-Lay, Shame on Loblaws. I’m in my 30s, and I’ve never experienced @#%! relentlessly getting incrementally more expensive like things have the last few years. It’s wild and it unsettles me, as I know it’s just about unchecked greed, and wouldn’t bet on it slowing down any time soon.
When Loblaws and Frito Lay were in talks, and there were big empty shelves all across the chip department, we found that the No Name and Compliments brand were perfectly sufficient to get us by. Now I won’t buy anything else unless it’s a special request. And we’re eating fewer chips. Win win for everyone except the greedy fuckers who made me think about this topic so hard.