PepsiCo Cuts Chip Prices After Losing Over $1 Billion in Revenue

oh, no! looks like all that greedy shrinkflation blew up in your greedy faces! boohoo!

In the Netherlands and a few other countries we have the Nutri-Score

https://www.rivm.nl/en/food-and-nutrition/nutri-score

This ranks a food from A (best) to E (worst) based on how well it fits into the dietary guidelines.

Important thing to note: it’s a ranking that compares foods in that same group. So it’s not ‘vegetables are A, pizza is E’, but rather ‘this Doritos has less salt than this bag of Lay’s’.

Now, this effectively caused companies to make their products blander in order to avoid a worse score. It also happened to save them money - you use fewer ingredients.

End result: chips now appear healthier because they have a better score… while also tasting like cardboard.

And how did that go over with consumers? See article. And you can read numerous complaints about it on social media.

Ironically, this also means that the Nutri-Score sorta works. Why eat chips when they are tasteless?

Attempts to win back consumers through smaller package sizes and promotional deals went nowhere.

What kind of consumer would be won over by smaller sizes? Savvy consumers know the best deals usually come from the larger sizes, which tend to have a lower price by weight. I don't even look at the tiny bags. Or are they seriously trying to frame shrinkflation as somehow being for a customer's benefit?

There is a Frito-Lay factory in my home town. It absolutely stinks. At certain times of the year, it’s worse and the odor just lingers in the air.

I enjoy a ball snack once in a while myself.

I remember one chef giving the very specific critique that America doesn’t add nearly enough salt to its foods. Seems that’s a very tense cultural thing.

What is the smell if you don't mind me asking?

In the Netherlands and a few other countries we have the Nutri-Score

https://www.rivm.nl/en/food-and-nutrition/nutri-score

This ranks a food from A (best) to E (worst) based on how well it fits into the dietary guidelines.

Important thing to note: it’s a ranking that compares foods in that same group. So it’s not ‘vegetables are A, pizza is E’, but rather ‘this Doritos has less salt than this bag of Lay’s’.

Now, this effectively caused companies to make their products blander in order to avoid a worse score. It also happened to save them money - you use fewer ingredients.

End result: chips now appear healthier because they have a better score… while also tasting like cardboard.

And how did that go over with consumers? See article. And you can read numerous complaints about it on social media.

Ironically, this also means that the Nutri-Score sorta works. Why eat chips when they are tasteless?

I remember one chef giving the very specific critique that America doesn’t add nearly enough salt to its foods. Seems that’s a very tense cultural thing.

I notice all the brand name chips are $6-8 but the off brands and Walmart brands are like $2-3…

The one near me just kinda smells like a McDonalds, it does mostly potato chips

Yup quit buying their stuff a while back. Insane prices and less product. Only a clueless idiot would think that would attract customers.

I notice all the brand name chips are $6-8 but the off brands and Walmart brands are like $2-3…

I didn’t want to believe it but the SNAP cuts really seemed to have a positive effect on prices. SNAP should be a tax break, not literally money in peoples pockets.