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☆ Chick-fil-A fans are debating whether its fries are shrinking or the chain is cutting portions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chick-fil-A customers are debating whether an order of fries at the chain are getting smaller. One patron posted time-lapsed photos to suggest that the chain's waffle fries get soggy over time. Customers of the Southern fast food chain have posted pictures of the fries on Reddit in the last few days. A larger order of waffle fries was $3.49 in Washington, DC, at lunchtime on Monday, according to Chick-fil-A's website. Another Reddit user posted three photographs showing an order of waffle fries after they received them and again nine minutes later.

☆ Some brands are 'slack-filling' to cleverly disguise how much product you actually get
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

There's a name for that empty part of the packaging: slack-fill. Dworsky suggested that some brands used slack-fill to deliberately mislead shoppers into thinking they're getting more product than they really are. The firm noted that these lawsuits are generally dismissed, in part because it's hard to prove that slack fill is nonfunctional. Halo Top and Mondelez have been unsuccessfully sued over slack-fill, too, lawsuits viewed by Insider show. But slack-fill lawsuits aren't always dismissed.

☆ Food is getting cheaper. But not for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When food producers started raising prices a few years ago, they blamed their own costs, including higher ingredient prices. Many food companies are forecasting that they might slow down or pause price increases — but not lower them. But ingredients typically make up a small portion of overall food costs. Companies are maintaining elevated prices, or continuing to increase them, at a time when many Americans are already struggling to pay for food, especially as pandemic-era food stamp benefits expire. So people keep buying food at the grocery store, despite higher prices — giving producers an opportunity to convince retailers that those higher prices won’t drive customers away.

☆ Man arrested for stealing truck filled with $48,000 worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A man was convicted in England for stealing a truck filled with 200,000 Cadbury eggs. Prosecutors say he broke into an industrial park and took the truck. According to prosecutors, Joby Pool used a metal grinder to break into an industrial park in Telford, England on February 11, the Associated Press reported. Once inside, prosecutors said he made off in a stolen truck containing more than $48,000 worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs, according to the AP. "Given the shrinkflation of Cadbury eggs over the years, I'd argue it's the moral thing to do," one person tweeted.

☆ Valentine's Day chocolate boxes look big, but have more plastic than ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Dworsky said his research shows the over-sized boxes deceive consumers into believing there’s more chocolate inside when there isn’t. Dworsky bought a 9.3-inches wide and 10-inches high Whitman's Sampler heart-shaped chocolate box, with 11 pieces of chocolate inside. Dworsky said a reader alerted him to the chocolate boxes a few days ago and sent him evidence of a heart-shaped Whitman’s chocolate sampler box. Swiss chocolate company Lindt & Sprüngli, which owns Russell Stover, Whitman’s and Ghirardelli brands, referred requests for comment to Russell Stover Chocolates. He said Dworsky had reached about to him about his most report looking at the Russell Stover and Whitman’s chocolate candy boxes.

☆ Overpacking, shrinkflation may mean you get less for your money for Valentine's Day gifts this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

That heart-shaped box of chocolates may be only half full this Valentine's Day. The issue was brought to Dworsky's attention this week when a reader who bought a box of chocolates wrote to express his outrage about the contents. Upon further investigation, Dworsky found Russell Stover and Whitman's Sampler chocolates, which sell for around $7.99, only contained between nine and 11 candy pieces, in the 9-inch-by-10-inch-size box. That leaves about two-thirds of the box seemingly empty, according to Dworsky. Whitman's and Russell Stover brands are sold by the Russell Stover Chocolates company, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

That surge in demand and limited supply contributed to higher prices. But diners will likely still pay higher menu prices than they were last year. Dutch Bros. Coffee CEO Joth Ricci told CNBC that most coffee businesses hedge their prices six to 12 months in advance. However, Zandi said, if the job market remains strong, inflation eases and wages grow, Americans can better manage higher prices for airfare and other items. Several hot pandemic items, including TVs, computers, sporting goods and major appliances have dropped in price, according to Labor Department data from December.

☆ Our Favorite 2022 Climate Coverage. (Some of It’s Even Good News!)
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In a year of groundbreaking news from the frozen (but warming) Arctic to the shores of the Red Sea, The Times’s Climate Desk produced hundreds of articles, covering multibillion-dollar legislation, clandestine obstructionism, even a “shrinkflation” expert. Here are selected pieces that the journalists who write about climate found most memorable this year, in their own words. 〰︎“Many American cities have set ambitious climate goals, but slashing planet-warming emissions within their borders is often easier said than done, especially when it comes to transportation. My colleague Nadja Popovich and I went to Portland, Ore., a city that considers itself a climate leader, to find out why. What we found was a bitter fight over official plans to expand several major highways.”— Brad Plumer

☆ NFL player J.J. Watt blasts Chipotle on Twitter: 'We want big burritos back'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Mary Meisenzahl | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Arizona Cardinals player J.J. Watt called out Chipotle for shrinking burrito sizes on Twitter. Some customers have been complaining about Chipotle's portion sizes for years. Pro-bowler and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt tweeted Sunday "Burritos have been getting smaller…," writing that he wanted to "open dialogue" with Chipotle. "We want big burritos back," he wrote, adding hashtags including "Burrito justice," "Still hungry," and "This is supposedly double meat." If its portion sizes are getting smaller, Chipotle wouldn't be the only retailer to do so.

☆ Why CEOs From Coca-Cola to Hershey Are Talking About ‘Price Elasticity’
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E4Are There Fewer Chips In Your Chip Bag? It Could Be Due to Shrinkflation. Consumers are growing savvy to shrinkflation, the practice of downsizing the contents of a product rather than raising prices. WSJ’s Annie Gasparro explains how to spot it in all its forms. Illustration: Adele Morgan

When it comes to managing your money and planning to reach long-term financial goals, understanding the language is key. This glossary of terms focused on money management, saving, investing, retirement planning, loans, and other areas of personal finance can help you decipher the jargon you're likely to encounter along the way. Conforming mortgage: A mortgage that meets the requirements to be purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. JJumbo loan: A mortgage that exceeds the borrowing limit for regular mortgages set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. USDA mortgage: A mortgage offered by a private bank or lender that's guaranteed by the Department of Agriculture.

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