The chips are down

To help offset the higher costs of grains and energy, PepsiCo has been quietly sneaking a few chips out of some bags of Frito-Lay brands and Doritos since January.

Smaller bags have been reduced by a quarter-ounce, while bigger bags have been cut by as much as 2 ounces.

What used to be a 12-ounce bag of Doritos now packs only 10 ounces. Not all product sizes have been cut; in some cases, prices went up instead.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

Orange crush

Are you running out of orange juice faster than you used to? Maybe it's because Tropicana containers have shrunk to 89 ounces from 96 ounces.

The change was part of a container redesign this year introducing a flip-top cap to reduce spillage, explains PepsiCo, which makes Tropicana.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

The smaller picker-upper

Procter & Gamble last year cut the number of paper towels in a roll of Bounty Prints to 52 from 60. The number of paper towels in Bounty White shrank to 56 from 60.

The company also replaced some older lines of Charmin toilet paper with Charmin Ultra Strong, which contains fewer sheets to the roll. This shrinkage coincided with a product redesign that offers paper towels and toilet paper that are thicker and more absorbent, so consumers don't mind, the company says.

"The upgraded products have proven to be preferred by consumers because they allow consumers to do more with less," reports a spokesman.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

A lighter breakfast

In early June, Kellogg's began shrinking the amount of cereal inside boxes by an average of 2.4 ounces, citing higher costs of corn and other commodities, as well as energy.

The change affects ready-to-eat cereals such as Froot Loops, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks and Honey Smacks.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

Say 'cheerio' to a few Cheerios

General Mill's has cut the amount of cereal in some boxes of Cheerios and Wheaties by as much as 1.5 ounces.

Before the changes, General Mills packages were larger than those of many competitors, the company says.

Courtesy Mouseprint.org

Hold the mayo

A jar of Hellmann's mayonnaise that once contained 32 ounces now has just 30 ounces.

Unilever says it trimmed those 2 ounces from the jar because of rising commodity and fuel costs.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

Spread thinner

You'll have to spread Unilever Country Crock margarine a little thinner now if you want it to last as long.

What was once a 3-pound container now contains 2 pounds, 13 ounces.

SwitchYard Media, Inc.

One scoop, not two

If you want to lose weight by cutting back on ice cream, the producers of two major brands are more than happy to help.

Standard cartons of Breyers ice cream, made by Unilever, and Edy's ice cream (sold as Dreyer's in the western U.S.), have been trimmed to 1.5 quarts from 1.75 quarts.

Courtesy Mouseprint.org

Slippery slope

A bar of Dial soap now contains 4 ounces instead of 4.5 ounces.

Henkel, which makes Dial, says it trimmed the size of its soap bars because of the rising cost of tallow, a main ingredient.

Vox Efx,CC2.0

A few sticks short

Wm. Wrigley Jr. is phasing out its 17-stick PlenTPak in favor of a 15-stick Slim Pack.

Wrigley says it decided to cut two sticks from packs of classic brands like Doublemint, Spearmint and Juicy Fruit in part because of positive consumer response to a smaller package rolled out with a new gum called 5 last year. "It is slimmer, so it is easier to put in your pocket," says a spokesman.

The pack also closes more tightly to protect the gum better. Wrigley says it has improved the taste of its gums and made flavors longer-lasting, so consumers aren't really losing out.