Do We Really Pay for Air Whenever We Get Potato Chips? There Are Two Reasons Why the Chips Packets Are Never Completely Filled with the Product
As you have certainly noticed, chips packets are never 100% full. Instead, there is a lot of air. Is it a smart trick that the corporations play to maximize profits?
6:59 PM EST, November 12, 2021
The price of air
I bet you know the feeling of disappointment when a huge packet of chips turns out to have just a bunch of them on the bottom, with the rest being nothing but... air. Is it a deliberate trick to cheat consumers? In fact it isn't. Almost empty packets of chips have got nothing to do with marketing.
Why is there so much air?
1. Whenever you open the packet, your chips are always crunchy. It is all thanks to nitrogen which the packets are filled with. Thanks to the gas the chips stay fresh and crunchy much longer. After you take them out, they lose the properties within a couple of hours.
2. 'Inflating' the packets prevents damaging the product on its way to the store and while it's put on the shelves. Nitrogen protects the chips against getting smashed, too. Of course the method is not always 100% effective – there will always be a few broken pieces.
