This customer did the math and figured out that a bag of Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles is valued at more than a prime cut of steak.
Food prices keep on rising
Food prices have gone up 31% in the last six years, and it’s unlikely they’ll universally go back down, Nerd Wallet reported.
And there’s no one factor we can point to to account for this staggering rise. Instead, it’s a combination of supply chain issues caused by global events, severe weather, and disease; higher production, labor, and fuel costs; and companies maintaining or increasing profits despite the volatile market.
And chips, yes, regular potato chips, haven’t been immune to price hikes. One of the United States’ most popular salty snacks has become much pricier.
Ten years ago, the average cost of a 16-ounce bag of chips was $4.27. At the end of last year, that number hit $6.32. As it turns out, Idaho and Washington, the top potato-producing states, have had consecutive record-warm years.
That, combined with water scarcity, has made the potatoes that supply our fries, chips, and mash much more expensive.
But this customer was surprised by just how high the price has gotten.
Customer says Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles aren’t worth the price
In a viral video with more than 300,000 views, grocery shopper John Cudzy (@.johnyc) pointed out an unfortunate pricing fact.
He picked up a bag of 2.25-ounce Ruffles and noticed that it cost a whole $2.69.
“Which would mean that’s over $16 a pound,” he says.
Let’s do the math real quick:
Price per ounce: $2.69 ÷ 2.25 = $1.1956
Price per pound: $1.1956 × 16 = $19.13
Cudzy points out that the chips cost as much, even more, than a ribeye steak. Right now, Walmart is selling ribeyes for $16.97 a pound.
“How is this possible??????” the text overlay on the video reads.
He goes on to speculate that at most the company used three potatoes for the bag. We won’t make you look at math again, but that’s about equivalent to 28 cents worth of potatoes.
“Make that make sense,” Cudzy says. “You’re looking at four potatoes for the same price as a ribeye steak.”
“Somebody needs to be making these companies accountable for this,” he concludes.
Commenters react
“Never thought about it that way…damn!” a top comment read.
“Simply stop buying. we have to stop consuming trash,” a person said.
“I live in Topeka, Kansas, where the factory is, and I’m telling you if you had smelled what I did and saw the filth and huge rats and nastiness that I saw on site you would never eat the chips again,” another alleged. (We confirmed at there is in fact a Frito-Lay factory in Topeka.)
“That size bag used to be 50 cents,” a commenter recalled.
@.johnyc Someone make this make sense #fyp #foryou #trending #viral #viralvideo ♬ original sound – John Cudzy
The Daily Dot reached out to Cudzy for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Frito-Lay via email.
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