NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center:Cookie Monster complaint about "shrinkflation" sparks response from White House

Shrinkflation: Consumers be wary in grocery store

The nation's snack producers aren't getting anything past Cookie Monster. The insatiable muppet and beloved resident of Sesame Street is getting a high-level response after taking to social media to complain that his favorite treat is shrinking.

"Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller," the googly-eyed, furry blue muppet declared on X on Monday, tapping into an economic trend of the day. "Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!"

The complaint prompted multiple U.S. senators and even the White House to weigh in on a move multiple years in the making that has seen companies scaling back on the size of products while keeping the price the same. 

"C is for consumers getting ripped off," the White House tweeted. "President Biden is calling on companies to put a stop to shrinkflation." 

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown also chimed in, writing "big corporations shrink the size of their products without shrinking their prices, all to pay for CEO bonuses."

"People in my state of Ohio are fed up — they should get all the cookie they pay for," Brown added.

Cookie Monster is onto something: OREO Double Stuf Chocolate Sandwich Cookies shrank by 6% in size by weight from January 2019 to October 2023, according to a report based on Labor Department numbers. 

Released by Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the findings had a range of goods getting smaller last year, led by household paper products.

Reports of shrinking product sizes have resurfaced again and again since the pandemic began as manufacturers cited supply-chain disruptions and global economic struggles. 

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York.