Frito-Lay, PepsiCo raise prices, decrease amount of product per package

PLANO, Texas Frito-Lay has started to cut the amount of many of its food products by one ounce beginning Sunday, the company said, and parent company, PepsiCo is raising prices, especially on larger mass items.

“The pricing activity is broad-based, and we are phasing it in across the many brands,” Frito-Lay spokeswoman, Jenny Schiavone, said.

Because of increasing rates of inflation and higher costs on commodities like cooking oil, corn and energy, company productivity gains are simply not enough to keep competition strong, company spokespersons have said.

Snack Food Association president and chief executive, Jim McCarthy told the media, “We have made commodities our No. 1 issue because these prices are going through the roof.” The Snack Food Association is a trade group based in Arlington, Va.

PepsiCo reported a $1.15-billion net gain, or 4.7 percent increase, in the period ended March 22. The company’s revenue bounded a 13.4 percent increase from from $7.4 billion last year to $8.3 billion at the same time this year.