US President Joe Biden on Sunday called on snack companies to stop markdowns, which is when companies reduce the size of products but keep prices the same, describing the practice as "a scam." "I'll tell you who noticed, the cookie monster," said the president, referring to a tweet that went viral by the famous Sesame Street character in which he complained about the shrinking size of his cookies due to reduction.
"My hate is shrinking. My cookies are getting smaller," lamented the blue puppet on the social network X in a tweet that was shared more than 4,200 times.
"Some companies are trying to do something quickly by reducing products little by little and hoping that no one notices," Biden said in a video posted on X.
"Give me a break. The American public is tired of being taken for fools. I call on businesses to put an end to this. Let's make sure businesses do the right thing now," he said.
Biden, who offered no solutions or policies to address the practice, did not name any specific companies, but several brands are featured in the video, including Gatorade, Doritos, Breyers and Tostitos.
"We appreciate that the president has to divert attention from the inflation that has persisted during his administration," David Chavern, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, said in a statement. Chavern added that the group would like to work with Biden on "real solutions that benefit consumers."
Senator Bob Casey, who released a report in December showing the impact of undersized products on everything from toilet paper to Oreo cookies, told Reuters in a statement that he was working to determine how widespread such practices were and to hold them accountable. the companies.
The report noted that household paper products were 34.9% more expensive per unit than in January 2019, and about 10.3% of the increase was due to producers reducing the size of rolls and packages. .
It said the price of snacks like Oreos and Doritos had risen 26.4% over the same period, with shrinking portions accounting for 9.8% of the increase.
A Casey spokesman said four major industry associations responded to his letters, but none "took responsibility for price manipulation or responded to his questions about pricing and transparency."
Although inflation appears to be slowing, the economy remains Americans' top overall concern, cited by 22% of respondents, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last month.
Since taking office, Biden has advocated for lower prices at supermarkets, pressured drug makers to lower insulin costs, pressured hotel chains to lower rates, and sought to diversify the packaging industry. of meat after beef prices soared following the pandemic.
