Across America, people are spending more at the grocery store but taking less food home. Shrinkflation is a problem for everyone — and one shopper found another example in the snack aisle. 

What's happening?

The shopper shared their experience on Reddit in the r/candy subreddit. "Oreo shrunk from 10 to 8 and deliberately used more plastic. Lame," they said.

Their photo shows a store shelf lined with packaged cookies, including Oreos. They are focused on the "King Size" package of Double Stuf Oreos. The package does indeed only hold eight cookies, although there appears to be room for more. It is being sold for $2.69.

"Not to mention their 'double stuf' has less cream. Stopped eating Oreos years ago when I learned its owned by Mondelez," one commenter said.

"Candy is where I discovered shrinkflation," another user said with a crying emoji.

Why is a smaller Oreo package important?

Taken in isolation, this doesn't seem like a big deal. Buyers don't necessarily need to eat more than eight Oreos at once. But unless the price drops with the number of cookies, this move is cheating consumers out of money. 

This isn't an isolated incident. Shrinkflation is happening everywhere. Packages are getting smaller and emptier but costing the same or more, so people across the country have to spend more to get the same amount of groceries.

Finally, this marketing choice means that for every bite of food being sold, there is proportionately more packaging being produced. Not only does this actually raise the cost of each item — an expense that gets passed on to consumers — but buyers then have to deal with the extra wrappers and boxes from buying more packages to get the same amount of food.

Is Mondelez doing anything about this?

According to the parent company that produces Oreos, it is making efforts to reduce packaging. However, on close inspection, its goals are extremely modest: a mere 5% reduction in virgin plastic usage in five years.

While it seems on track to achieve that goal — or at least get close — reducing the number of Oreos per package by 20% means there is now roughly 25% more packaging per cookie, more than offsetting any savings.

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What can I do about shrinkflation and plastic waste?

When you visit the grocery store, look for brands with honest packaging, ideally ones that use eco-friendly materials. You may not be able to avoid rising prices for food, but you can grow your own food at home to enjoy fresh produce without the inflation.

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