There are 5 fewer Doritos per bag now thanks to inflation


If your bag of Doritos has seemed suspiciously skimpy on chips lately, you're not alone. Frito-Lay confirmed that it decreased the number of chips you get per bag by five whole delicious triangles in 2021 in order to account for inflation, Quartz reports.
"Inflation is hitting everyone … we took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips," a representative of the company explained.
A difference of five chips (or a 9.25 oz. bag versus 9.75 oz. bag) might not seem like much if you're not the one with the shorted bag, but "cutting half an ounce from a bag while leaving its price unchanged correlates roughly to a 21 cents-per-bag saving," Time reported in 2014 with regards to Frito-Lay's flavored chips. For 200 million bags of chips, that means "the total amount saved is … upwards of $50 million," Time explained.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Doritos aren't the only product that's gotten smaller while charging you the same price. You'll also get one fewer brushes out of a tube of Crest 3D White Radiant Mint, 28 fewer crackers out of a box of family size original Wheat Thins, and several fewer sips out of your bottle of Gatorade as companies try to pass higher supply prices onto consumers with sneaky downsizing and repackaging. Read more about what products have gotten smaller under your nose at Quartz.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Why is the threat of stagflation rising?
Talking Points Inflation is sticky. Trump's tariffs won't help.
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Pros and cons of tariffs
Pros and Cons As Trump imposes tariffs on cars from overseas, here are the arguments for and against duties
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling