Shrinkflation might not be a thing of the past. That’s at least what one shopper is saying after she noticed something off about the new can of Campbell’s Chunky Steak and Potato Soup.
TikTok user Serena (@serenawolf8881) posted a video on Monday from the soup aisle of her local grocery store. “Hey Campbell’s,” she says to start the video. “I have a bit of a gripe with you. This is the old can, and this is the new can. Can you see the difference?”
Serena then lines up two cans of Campbell’s Chunky Steak and Potato Soup. They look nearly identical, except for that one of the cans is slightly bigger and is advertised to contain an additional gram of protein. “They’re both $1.99, but this one is 18.8 ounces, and this one is 16.3 ounces. For the same price. What in the [expletive]? You’re losing 2 ounces of soup for the same price. Ridiculous.”
The video has amassed more than 73,000 views as of Wednesday morning. In the comments section, fellow shoppers weighed in on the continuation of pandemic-era shrinkflation. That is when brands lower the amount of product in a package without a corresponding drop in price.
One user wrote, “Hate ‘shrinkflation.’ We never get the old size back. Like ice cream used to be 1/2 gallon, now it's 1.5 quarts or 'Family sizes' that are what the old regular size was.”
A second user wrote, “But you're not looking at it through the lens of increasing shareholder value, and we all know that's the most important thing in this country.”
A third user shared, “Also, they put in three tiny pieces of meat in the whole can. Haven't eaten that for awhile now.”
Apparently, this isn’t the first time a discerning customer noticed a shift in the weight of a Campbell’s soup product. Two years ago, a Reddit user posted to r/shrinkflation about Campbell’s Creamy Tomato Soup getting smaller.
In the comments, one user wrote, "I noticed the change in can size as I walked past the soup section. I said to myself, 'I have the older cans at home so I'll check to see if they're the same in ml.' Campbell's thinks they can trick us, but we won't be tricked!”
In an interview with Yahoo Finance earlier in the year, Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse acknowledged the financial strain customers found themselves in over the past several years and promised that the company would not sacrifice quality or lower expectations. The company did its first significant redesign in decades last year in an effort to boost declining sales.
@serenawolf8881 This is getting ridiculous ???? #capitalism #wtf #wth #seriously #fyp #fypage #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound - Serena Jones
The Daily Dot reached out to Serena via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. The Daily Dot also reached out to Campbell’s via press email for comment.
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The post ‘Stopped buying these soups’: Shopper demands answers after noticing new can of Campbell’s Chunky Steak and Potato Soup appeared first on The Daily Dot.
