If you've noticed some of your favourite snacks and products at the grocery store diminish in quality or size over the past few years, you're definitely not alone. 

This phenomenon — referred to as "shrinkflation" —  is the process of items shrinking in size or quantity, as companies face higher costs for ingredients, supply chain challenges, and record-high inflation. 

The process, also known as package downsizing, allows companies to increase their profitability by reducing costs, and usually means smaller-sized items or increased prices for consumers. 

Toronto-based brand strategist Neal Chauhan recently put a spotlight on all the brands participating in this process through a TikTok series, which has since amassed millions of views and reactions. 

According to the TikTok, many name-brand companies are downsizing their products in order to keep profitability high and costs low. Photo: @toysoldiermarketing

The first TikTok of the series highlights several "embarrassing examples of shrinkflation" and has received more than one million views and over 3,000 comments. 

Some of the examples include Excel turning one-tenth of their product into a "thumb grip," Sapporo Ichiban ramen allegedly shrinking flavour packets, Colgate shrinking tube sizes, and Gatorade increasing the dent size in their bottles. 

Photo: @toysoldiermarketing

"This fills me with the most profound rage," one comment reads. 

"Pay more, provide less and now corporations are seeing record profits while the middle class is dying out," another person wrote. 

"But how else are the CEOs supposed to buy their third yacht with this inflation going around. Think about the yachts, guys," a user joked. 

The second TikTok in the series similarly picked up lots of heated reactions, and has since amassed over 100,000 likes.

Examples of shrinkflation included in the follow-up post include Oreo filling not reaching the edges anymore, Pringles getting smaller over time, Girl Scout Cookies getting smaller every year, and McDonald's pickles being thicker than the actual burger meat. 

"The quality of everything has just gone down horrendously in the last decade," one comment noted. 

"So wait, not only are we broke and can barely afford groceries, but now we're getting less?" another person asked.