On Super Bowl Sunday, President Joe Biden directed attention towards snack companies, urging them to halt the practice of “shrinkflation” – a critique that may become more commonplace from the White House.
In a brief 48-second video posted on X, Biden was seen alongside familiar snacks such as Oreos, Doritos, and Goldfish, addressing the issue. He remarked, “When buying snacks for the game, you might have noticed one thing: Sports drink bottles are smaller, a bag of chips has fewer chips, but they’re still charging you just as much.”
Shrinkflation occurs when consumer products decrease in weight, size, or quantity while maintaining their prices or even raising them.
Expressing his frustration, Biden stated, “I’ve had enough of what they call ‘shrinkflation.’ It’s a rip off. I’m calling on companies to put a stop to this.”
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang echoed sentiments of the average consumer, noting, “That’s a message that the average consumer will nod their heads and say ‘sure, I hate it when that happens.’ The question is whether that’s actually going to change corporate practices.”
White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard, during an appearance on CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Tuesday, attributed higher consumer prices to “shrinkflation.”
Andrew Yang, now serving as the co-chair of the Forward Party, remarked, “They’re gonna have to keep making this case around the country because the Biden administration is underwater with independents who are going to decide this November’s election. They’re going to be trying anything they can to say, at least, ‘we’re on your side.'”