Shrinkflation? Finger-sized drumstick at KFC shocks diner

SINGAPORE: A shocked local Reddit user took to the platform to show a photo of a drumstick they ordered from KFC. Using their index finger for comparison, they showed that the chicken piece they received wasn’t very big at all.

“It’s like sligggghtlllyyy longer than the size of my finger,” wrote the post author in a Dec 24 r/Singapore post. They explained that their order came from the fast food chain’s Bedok branch.

“Had a craving for fried chicken, but man, it’s one he**uva surprise to see this size. I’ve read about the drop in standard, but this shrinkflation sure hits hard,” they added, wondering that the chicken piece had been “downsized to finger food.”

The post has since received many comments from Reddit users, many of whom have experienced shrinkflation at other fast-food outlets themselves.

“What’s the point of Ozempic when shrinkflation is reducing my calorie intake by half already?” a commenter quipped.

Another chimed in to say that they had a “Similar experience with the McDonald’s near my place as well. Their chicken drumstick is now just a little larger than a normal drumlet. Paid $3 to add it to a meal, too. Are our fast food outlets helping to manage our nation’s obesity crisis?”

One wrote, “Not just KFC, even Texas Chicken, too.”

“Wah lau! I buy a chicken drumstick from a hawker centre, bigger than what KFC is serving these days,” added another.

“Even Jollibee is also a bit downsized,” one observed.

And although shrinkflation is by no means a new thing, a Reddit user exclaimed, “Ok, this one is diabolical, I’ve never seen one this tiny.”

When a commenter advised others to “just buy frozen chicken from NTUC and fry yourself,” another added that the KFC recipe has already been shared online anyway.

This is not the first time that a netizen has complained about the size of the chicken pieces of KFC.

In July 2024, an unhappy customer wrote on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page that he would never return to the fast-food chain after being disappointed with the small size of the chicken pieces in his order.

Punctuating his post with not one but three red-faced angry emojis, he wrote that the fast-food chain had used a “chick instead of chicken” and that the size of the drumstick and thigh is the same as a chilli sachet.

A few months later, another Facebook user wrote that his chicken piece was smaller than the condiment packets. He held up a packet of chilli sauce beside the chicken piece, and the condiment packet was even longer. For comparison’s sake, he also posted a photo of the advertised image of the meal offer, which showed a chicken piece that was significantly bigger. /TISG

Read related: Drumstick or drumlet? KFC’s $4.35 chicken leaves customer ‘cheated and disappointed’