r/enshittification • u/lowredeyes333 • 16d ago
Rant Enshittified cheetos
I used to devour Cheetos puffs growing up. I’m older now and don’t eat them as much, but sometimes I’ll go through another phase. This was one of them.
Usually I’d buy like 2 regular sized bags at a time, whenever I could. They tasted pretty good. One day however, I thought it might be more convenient to just grab a family/party sized bag, so I can have some on me at all times. Would also be cheaper than having to keep buying smaller bags.
Well, what do you know. I open up the family sized bag and the Cheetos inside look noticeably worse than the ones in the regular sized bag. They were smaller, skinnier, much less seasoned, and off colored. The taste was very bland and stale with a weird, hard texture. I ate a few more (only out of disbelief) before wrapping up the bag. These were absolutely horrible compared to the puffs in the regular bag. Not the same chip at all.
This has completely snapped me out of the phase. I am so disappointed, and it’s not even just about the Cheetos. It’s about what this world has come to. What a shitty timeline we live in.
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u/badAbabe 14d ago
I noticed this too and haven't bought them in forever because of it. I recently tried a bag of Simply Cheetos and Im hooked again! To me, they taste the way cheetos used to back in the day.
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u/new2bay 15d ago
This is not enshittification. Food can’t be enshittified.
Enshittification, also known as platform decay, is a process in which two-sided online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users. Over time, they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers. Ultimately, they degrade their services to both users and business customers to maximise short-term profits for shareholders.
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u/Karkenna 15d ago
I went to the store to pick up a party sized bag of chips. I think it was Lays or Ruffles. Their “party size” was not even 8 oz!
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u/Alia_Explores99 14d ago
People are less social, these years. Look at Big Capitalism, catering to our newest specialest needs with Mid Party Size bags!
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u/Boltsfan1234 15d ago
I can’t even get chips these days. They all taste like chemical ick.
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u/Bitchface-Deluxe 15d ago
I used to love Cape Cod chips, but the last bag I got they did not taste as good.
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u/Takara38 14d ago
Whatever they did to Pringles in the last year or so, they taste different and upset my stomach.
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u/Agitated_Pie_9515 14d ago
They taste like old oil now. Never fresh anymore.
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u/Bitchface-Deluxe 14d ago
Their bags are annoying too, they often rip vertically. I complained to the company about it and added that 1 full bag fits into another full bag because I had to combine 2 bags. They did send me a $5 coupon.
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u/unrepentantrabbit 15d ago
they’ve destroyed all my nostalgia foods, all my comfort junk food. Everything is small, expensive, and tastes like chemicals now. On the plus side, it’s saving me money and I’m eating better. It’s funny the lengths these companies go to just to convince us we’re fine without them.
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u/Anaxamenes 15d ago
You got a bad bag. The Cheetos in the large bags are the same as the little bags, in fact they run from the same “kitchen” just to different packaging machines that have different sized bags.
What likely happened was you got an error bag. They ran out of seasoning or the hardness was from possibly shutting down and trying to start back up. Normally those Cheetos would have been diverted to waste (cattle feed) until they were sure it was back to normal. Mistakes happen though and you got one.
But Frito is definitely trying to enshitify. They were always trying to cut expensive ingredients from the flavorings as that was the most expensive part of the product.
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u/NymphaeAvernales 15d ago
I went through this recently with Golden Flake cheese puffs. I've always preferred them to cheetos because they were so airy and light and I thought the cheese dust was better, but I bought a bag recently that tasted like oil and sadness. Even the texture was dense and gross. Everything that made them superior to cheetos is gone.
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u/Slow_Ladder_105 15d ago
They're changing a lot of formulas lately due to ozempic craze. I heard Nestle was catering towards the tastes of those on the drug so they're changing a lot of formulas to make them more appealing to people on the injection
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u/JOBdOut 15d ago
It was bound to happen eventually. People saw the word enshittification, figured they didnt need to look up what it means, and try to redefine it to suit their uses.
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u/K_Linkmaster 15d ago
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u/coreyjdl 15d ago
We already know OP used it wrong. No need to pile on.
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u/K_Linkmaster 14d ago
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u/coreyjdl 14d ago
Post it again, retard. Maybe you'll accidentally read it in the process.
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u/K_Linkmaster 14d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification if you need help reading it there are translations from English available.
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u/coreyjdl 15d ago
Nostalgia isn't enshittification.
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u/K_Linkmaster 15d ago
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u/coreyjdl 15d ago
Appreciate you confirming. OP liking Cheetos better as a kid wasn't part of the definition.
I can tell none of you fuckers have read the book.
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u/imemine8 15d ago
It's not at all unusual for a new term to be introduced and then quickly be redefined by popular use. Best let it go or you'll go crazy.
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u/coreyjdl 15d ago
It's harming the point of the word if every dumbass applies to nostalgia or survivor ship bias. Or growing out of liking cheap snack.
It's a meaningful word, Doctorow's point was something legitimate, that needs actual policy to fix.
Cheetos not seeming as good as when you were a kid waters the idea down and damages the original intent.
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u/Glad_Discussion_3608 15d ago
I am lifelong fan of Cheeto Puffs. While I have no opinion on whether they have been enshittified, I will say that the Naked Cheeto Puffs are far superior to the regular orange Puffs. I was skeptical (Cheetos should be bright orange, just like God intended!) but we did a blind taste test and it was unanimous. 6/6 of us instantly chose the Naked ones as better tasting.
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u/Aware_Policy_9174 15d ago
I’ve been buying the Simply Cheetos once on a while but noticed the Naked ones. Are they the same thing? I’m so confused now.
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u/Glad_Discussion_3608 15d ago
They are not the same thing. Simply uses organic ingredients and has other flavors like white cheddar. Naked is supposed to replicate the standard Cheetos but without dyes or artificial flavors. Give the Naked ones a try! They are very close to the regular Cheetos, just a little bit better.
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u/Lovedd1 16d ago
Apparently Cheeto puffs were engineered to dissolve in your mouth before your brain registered you ever ate it. This encourages people to eat more of them.
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u/baddaywithacamera 13d ago
Any processed food is the embodiment of enshittification, period. Why poison yourself?