The Bagel Brand That's Suddenly Shrinking, According To Customers

It's no secret that weekly grocery bills are getting bigger while food packages are getting smaller. If you're asking, "Where have my bagels gone?" you aren't alone. Many of shoppers' favorite packaged foods have gotten smaller – and, when it comes to Thomas' Bagels, customers have been noticing that the price is the same (or increasing), while the bagels are shrinking.

A Reddit thread in r/shrinkflation shares a photo of two Thomas' bagels side-by-side with their respective packaging sleeves, captioned "Same product, same store, same price, 1 week later." The nutrition label on the package of the week-old bagels listed each one as weighing 95 grams (there are six bagels per container). Reportedly, one week later, the packaging indicates that each bagel weighs 85 grams (still six bagels per container). The poster writes, "Thought my bagels felt light this week. Compared it to last week's and even had a bagel left over for the sad comparison. 10.5% less bagel per package for the EXACT same price. They can't keep getting away with this."

Multiple shoppers jumped in to echo similar shrinkflation testimonials surrounding the brand. "Today I had a pack of plain Thomas bagels in my Walmart cart. I get a notification they're no longer available," writes one commenter. "They were $2.74 for a 20-ounce bag. The replacement is $3.97 for an 18-ounce bag." Currently, the official Thomas' website lists its bagels as available in 1-pound 2-ounce bags, with each bagel weighing 85 grams.

In recent years, shrinkflation has crashed into the food and beverage industry like a wallet-robbing tidal wave. Beyond bagels, popular grocery items such as DiGiorno frozen pizzas and General Mills "family-size" cereal boxes have been hit by shrinkflation. Some companies (like, apparently, Thomas') gradually decrease the size of their products by small increments over time in an attempt to remain unnoticed. If the commentary on Reddit is any indication, customers are certainly noticing. These minute-seeming reductions shake out to an overall grocery price increase of hundreds of dollars as the years go by. 

A study published in April 2026 by InvestorsObserver found that the average family of four is paying $741 more per year in 2026 than in 2020 for the same amount of groceries. To conduct its study, the financial technology company tracked the prices and package sizes of America's most popular grocery brands over the past six years. It was determined that $41 of the annual price increase is due to package-size decreases alone. 

Thomas' has one of the largest store presences of popular bagel brands, and at some retailers, it corners the market. One Reddit commenter notes, "Thomas bagels are garbage, but somehow the only bagels my grocery store carries." Still, it's worth mentioning that Thomas' ranks a measly 11th in Tasting Table's ranking of 14 store-bought bagel brands. Instead of shelling out for scaled-down bagels, we consider opting for one of the higher-ranking offerings in our lineup, like Walmart's Marketside New York Style or Panera Bread bagels.