Raising Cane’s has been going viral in 2024 for their mega portions, namely, the full soda fountain cup of their iconic Cane’s sauce; but the sauce is for nothing if the chicken tenders aren’t up to scratch, and people feel that they’re getting smaller.
Conversations about this apparent change were sparked after a TikTok went viral comparing the chicken tenders to chicken nuggets, and since, others have agreed that Raising Cane’s is being affected by shrinkflation.
The original TikTok, posted back in June, has amassed over one million views and sparked a thread of videos under the “Raising Canes Getting Smaller” label.
The video posted by Roz had users in the comments comparing Raising Cane’s sizes since they first opened, with some customers claiming that their chicken tenders used to be double the size.
“The other day I got some that were barely larger than the ketchup packet they give you.” One person commented, with Roz agreeing that she used to “barely be able to finish a combo box meal” and now it’s “nothing”.
“Used to be over 2 oz each now they are between 1.6 and 1.8 oz” another mentioned, clearly having done the math and weighed out the tenders after some suspicions.
It wasn’t just the chicken people were concerned about, either. The video above states that they feel that the classic Texas Toast has gotten smaller too, and one commenter noted, “They used to throw in like 3 fist fulls of fries now I can actually finish the fries.” followed by a crying emoji.
Although the sizing of the portions is alleged to have gone down, the prices have certainly gone up. According to a food reviewer and avid Caniac on Instagram, a Raising Cane’s box combo costed $8.35 in 2019, but in 2024, it has gone up by 55% to $12.99.
When compared to other popular chicken chains, a combo of the same size is coming out at $11 at Popeye’s, and $10.44 at KFC, making Cane’s the most expensive.
A Raising Cane’s worker on TikTok was able to shed some light on why these changes might be:
“Cane’s worker— depends on the shipment we get. some weeks we get good size tenders other times they’re small.”
Another, who claims to be in charge of weighing tender shipments before the marinating stage noted that anything between 1.6oz and 2.3oz is perfectly normal.
This isn’t the only fast food chain that customers are disappointed with, McDonald’s fans aren’t pleased with this year’s Boo Bucket design.