Whole Foods settles class action lawsuit over hot cocoa packaging. Here’s how much you could get

Companies have several ways to increase their bottom lines. The first way is to raise the prices of products. But doing so can lead to fewer sales. Instead, some companies reduce the amount of product inside a package (or increase the size of the package without increasing the amount of product) while keeping the price the same, which helps reduce upfront costs.

This practice is known as shinkflation, and it’s one that frequently annoys customers. But customers occasionally fight back. A group of California consumers brought a shrinkflation-related class action lawsuit against Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market, and the grocery store chain’s local subsidiary has agreed to settle, offering cash payments to those affected. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happened?

Whole Foods Market was