PepsiCo – owner of the Doritos brand – and Peperami said the decrease in weight was due to rising costs following fluctuating exchange rates. Coco Pops’s owner Kellogg blamed the weight change on a reduction in sugar.
A PepsiCo spokewoman said: “Like most businesses, we are facing factors such as fluctuating foreign exchange rates which are impacting the cost of ingredients and materials.
“As a result we’ve had to make a few changes to certain Doritos packs. We always strive to provide high quality competitively priced products and will continue to review our range to ensure we offer great value to our customers.”
Continental Europe manufacturing
Shrinkflation
- Products shrinking in weight or size, while prices remain the same
Elsewhere, meat snack Peperami decreased its single stick’s weight 10% to 22.5g. It blamed its rising costs on its continental Europe manufacturing.
A Peperami spokeswoman said: “Peperami is manufactured in mainland Europe and has been subject to rising commodity costs and foreign exchange pressure due to significant currency fluctuations.
“We always endeavour to reduce the impact of such movements to ensure our brands are as affordable as possible for our loyal consumers, and have limited this impact to a reduction in the size of our sticks from 25g to 22.5g, whilst maintaining the number of sticks sold in multipacks.”
Kellogg reduced its Coco Pops boxed from 550g to 510g. The decrease in weight was due to a 14% reduction in sugar, Kellogg said. The sugar reduction meant there were an extra 2,000 Coco Pops per box, it claimed.
‘Reduced sugar’
A Kellogg spokeswoman said: “We recently reduced sugar in Coco Pops Original by 14%, which has reduced the weight of some packs.
“By removing some of the sugar in the recipe and changing the coating, each Coco Pop weighs less than the previous recipe. However, the number of Coco Pops in each box has actually increased by more than 10%.
“For example, the 550g box now weighs 510g but the number of Coco Pops per box has increased from approximately 14,500 to 16,500. That’s a 15% increase.”
Meanwhile, Mondelēz International sparked a social media backlash in November, after it changed the weight and shape of its iconic Toblerone bars to offset rising costs.
This article follows an exclusive report by our sister title The Grocer.
Latest shrinkflation – at a glance
- Doritos packs reduced in weight over increased costs
- Peperami weight cut 10% to 22.5g
- Coco Pops boxes cut from 550g to 510g