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The Incredible Shrinking Doritos Bag - Why You're Paying the Same for Less
Big companies are protecting profits with subtle repackaging, putting a little less into boxes of cereal, containers of ice cream, rolls of paper towels and other products. Guess who's paying for it.
Does it seem you run out of Doritos, orange juice or mayonnaise faster than you used to?
Your mind is not playing tricks on you.
Slammed by the skyrocketing costs of agricultural goods and energy, many companies are quietly shortchanging their customers by putting a little less into bags, jars and boxes.
"We are tightening our belts," PepsiCo (PEP, news, msgs) chief Indra Nooyi said in a company conference call last week. PepsiCo recently reduced the amount of Tropicana orange juice you get in a large container by 7%, from 96 ounces to 89 ounces. Bags of Doritos, also made by PepsiCo, have been trimmed by as much as 2 ounces.
PepsiCo is not alone in subtly cutting size as a substitute for raising prices. Kellogg (K, news, msgs), General Mills (GIS, news, msgs), Unilever (UL, news, msgs), Wm. Wrigley Jr. (WWY, news, msgs) and Procter & Gamble (PG, news, msgs) have quietly trimmed the amount of cereal, ice cream, chewing gum, paper towels and toilet paper you get. (See the slide show.)
Legal -- but sneaky?
This is perfectly legal as long as companies don't lie about how much they're putting into packages. And they don't do that.
But how many time-starved consumers will notice that a box of cereal holds 8.7 ounces instead of 11 (as has happened with Kellogg's Froot Loops)? Consumer advocates say it's sneaky to put less in a similarly sized package without announcing it loudly.
Companies, of course, don't do that either.
"It is a sneaky way to pass on a price increase," says Edgar Dworsky, a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general for consumer protection who is now editor of Mouse Print, a Web site dedicated to tracking what the fine print on consumer products "taketh away."
"If companies are going to do this, they need to be transparent about it and let consumers know," agrees Chris Waldrop, the director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America.
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So is it deceitful to charge people for less than what they are used to or should people be paying attention to what they buy? Big companies are protecting profits with subtle repackaging, putting a little less into boxes of cereal, containers of ice cream, rol... more -
First space ad targets hungry aliens
It could be the longest commercial break in history. Over a six-hour period this morning, high-powered radars in the Arctic Circle broadcast an advertisement into space for the first time.
The advertisement, for Doritos tortilla chips, was being directed towards a solar system in the Ursa Major constellation, just 42 light years from Earth. The solar system contains a habitable zone, and could host an Earth-like planet and extraterrestrial life. It could be the longest commercial break in history. Over a six-hour period this morning, high-powered radars in the Arctic Circle bro... more -
Doritos SPICE ATTACK!
I was just thinking that Doritos had gotten a little light and wimpy. when i noticed something heavier than usual in my dorito bag...eeeeewwww. I was just thinking that Doritos had gotten a little light and wimpy. when i noticed something heavier than usual in my dorito bag...e... more
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Father son Dorito advert atempt
Daddy may be a little greedy with the doritos but he sure is inventive is daddy with his toppings
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Boy gives girl tongue...
but not in the way you think. Oh Doritos!
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Doritos to advertise in space
The entire sweep of mankind's history is to be represented to potential aliens in space by a Doritos advert. The publicity stunt will see a 30-second ad screened to part of the Ursa Major constellation, a zone astronomers believe contain the right conditions for life.
TV broadcast signals have been accidentally slipping into the cosmos since the days of I Love Lucy, but this is the first deliberate targeting of a commercial, which will be transmitted using a 500MHz Ultra High Frequency Radar to the zone 42 light years away from Earth.
The site Environmental Graffiti points out that this is just another humiliation for astronomers, most of whom are desperately searching for funding as observatories face closure in the face of government budget cuts.
'Much like the uproar following NASA’s decision to broadcast a Beatles’ song at the North Star, some scientists [have] started freaking out about aliens getting annoyed and attacking us. Most scientists, however, believe aliens either don’t exist or won’t receive the advertisement, or really like Doritos'. The entire sweep of mankind's history is to be represented to potential aliens in space by a Doritos advert. The publicity stunt... more -
Muslims upset over Doritos
Some Muslims have criticized Walkers crisps after it emerged that certain of it's products contain trace amounts of alcohol.
Alcohol is sometimes used to extract flavors. (Cheesy flavors? MMM).
"Even if it is a trace amount of alcohol, Walkers should make it clear on the packaging so that the customer can make an informed choice," says Halal supermarket owner in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Isn't alcohol in everything? Some Muslims have criticized Walkers crisps after it emerged that certain of it's products contain trace amounts of alcohol. ... more -
Shoplifting seagull in Scotland gets away with it!!
A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.
The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.
Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.
The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.
Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny. A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop. ... more
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