Are Costco's Newest Cookies A Victim Of Shrinkflation?

Sweet-toothed foodies with a penchant for bulk groceries know that Costco's bakery cookies come in 24-packs, but if shrinkflation has anything to say about it, that might not be the case for long. An Instagram video posted by fan account @costcobuys depicts a display of the warehouse's all-new brown butter sugar cookies packaged in their clear plastic bakery boxes. The poster writes, "NEW Brown Butter Sugar Cookies at the Costco Bakery! Soft, chewy, and perfectly sweet — they're even better warmed up! Get 21 for $7.99." It sounds delicious, until foodies notice that there are 21 cookies in the package instead of the usual 24. One frustrated commenter writes, "Costco bakery items are no longer worth it. First the size of the muffins change now the frosting on the cinnamon rolls do too!"

Shrinkflation is the real-time impact of inflation hiding in plain sight, and it's affecting our favorite Costco desserts. With shrinkflation, even though an item's sticker price doesn't change, customers receive less product, equating to an overall price increase per item. If it seems like there are fewer potato chips in every bag, or your go-to candy bar seems a little shorter, there's a reason why. Sneakiness is a crucial element of shrinkflation's success as a business strategy. It only works if customers don't notice the smaller product — or, if they are desperate and inflation-weary enough themselves to relent and accept paying more per given amount.

Costco's new brown butter sugar cookies are far from the first grocery item to get hit by shrinkflation. In December, during the holiday season, we reported on Costco's fan-favorite "jumbo" peppermint bark, which sent shoppers into an outrage for its suddenly not-so-jumbo size compared to past years. In fact, Costco's downsizing trend has been blooming for some time now — ironic for a grocery warehouse whose entire business platform is based on buying in bulk.

A Reddit thread from one year ago asks, "What are some shrinkflation items you've started to notice at Costco, if any? I noticed the Colgate 4 pack toothpaste has reduced in size and [it is] very noticeable." Fans in the comments section mention Costco products from bagged frozen blueberries to bagels to toilet paper ("they went from 425 sheets per roll to 380 sheets") and packaged soups (some flavors now come in 24-ounce containers instead of the usual 32-ounce containers). The top comment, written by an apparent employee, notes, "I work in the bakery at a Costco and I've noticed the croissants are getting smaller, we get them shipped in from a factory in Canada frozen and rolled up etc but they are almost half the size that they used to be." Here's hoping that Costco's from-scratch bakery items dodge the shrinkflation bullet, but if the 21-count brown butter sugar cookies are any indication, we aren't holding our breath.