Shrinkflation: How To Outsmart Deceptive Business Practices?
Revealed over a year ago by the Foodwatch association, shrinkflation is an unfair commercial practice, which will soon be indicated on the shelf by a small sign. We will explain to you exactly what it consists of and how to outsmart deceptive packaging when you do your shopping.
Shrinkflation, or the art of selling emptiness.
The term "shrinkflation" has been widely discussed in the media over recent months. If you're unfamiliar with this quirky word, it refers to a business practice, also known as "réduflation" in French, which involves reducing the quantity of a product without lowering its price.
In practice, the product's packaging remains the same but the quantity sold decreases, while the price stays the same or may even increase. Although this practice is not illegal, it has been criticized by the Foodwatch organization because consumers are unable to detect it at the time of purchase.
As a consumer, you are the victim of deception, believing you are purchasing the same product as usual. However, in reality, the packaging contains less product and more empty space!
An information obligation starting from July 1, 2024
In light of this, the government has decided to impose greater transparency on the practices of certain manufacturers who disguise price increases. Starting July 1, 2024, supermarkets are required to inform consumers when the quantity of a product decreases while being sold at the same or higher price.
This obligation to report shrinkflation applies to stores with a sales area greater than 400 square meters, during the first two months of marketing the concerned product. Small city convenience stores are exempt from this new transparency requirement.
Regarding the products, this regulation concerns pre-packaged consumer goods, including food items and non-food products sold in constant quantities, such as household products or baby products.
A clearer display for consumers
Starting July 1, 2024, consumer products affected by shrinkflation will be marked on the shelf with a notice placed nearby or by a label directly affixed to the product's packaging.
The information note will read as follows: "For this product, the sold quantity has changed from X to Y and its price (per liter or kilo) has increased by ...% or ...€."
This new mandatory notice must be displayed clearly and legibly on the shelf, using the same font size as that used for the product's price.
Any failure to comply with these new requirements will be penalized with a fine of up to €3,000 for an individual or up to €15,000 for a legal entity.
A regulation that could be circumvented
Even though this new regulation represents a victory for the Foodwatch association, it is likely that consumers will not see a big difference in supermarkets.
Signs indicating shrinkflation are not expected to proliferate on the shelves. Indeed, big brands have numerous packaging sizes allowing them to change the weight of their products as they please, without falling under the scope of this regulation.
Manufacturers do not hesitate to completely overhaul their product lines, with smaller or larger containers, to disorient consumers and increase prices subtly…
The only way for buyers to outsmart all these traps is to always refer to the price per kilo or liter.
Beware of cheapflation!
Now that shrinkflation will no longer go completely unnoticed, manufacturers may resort to another trick to preserve their margins. Instead of playing with the amount of product sold, they could modify its composition.
To reduce costs, it is indeed possible to replace a high-quality ingredient with a cheaper one or to be cunning with proportions, by decreasing the quantity of the most expensive ingredients and increasing the proportion of the cheaper ones. This other insidious practice is called cheapflation.
For example, Foodwatch revealed that the brand Le Gaulois discreetly reduced the proportions of chicken and emmental in its cordon bleu and increased the proportion of breadcrumbs... This sleight of hand is not illegal and it's even more difficult for consumers to detect.
To avoid being too heavily swindled, always check the list of ingredients. The earlier an ingredient appears on the list, the greater its quantity. As a general rule, it's better to avoid industrial products whose ingredient list is long and includes more than 5 food additives (with an E code...). Endless ingredient lists are a sign of ultra-processed foods that are bad for health.
