This is the cheat pack of the month
The content shrinks, and sometimes the price is also reduced. The bottom line is that the product still becomes more expensive. This type of action on the part of the food industry is known as shrinkflation. The consumer advice center in Hamburg has another brazen example this month.
Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing the portion sizes of consumer goods or filling a smaller quantity in order to conceal price increases and inflation. A particularly brazen example of shrinkflation is the current cheat pack of the month for November from the Hamburg Consumer Advice Center (VZHH), Gutbio fennel tea from Aldi Nord. The discounter has reduced the filling quantity of this product twice: instead of 25, there are now only 20 tea bags in the outer packaging. Each bag also contains two grams of fennel tea instead of three. Apparently, the tea has become cheaper at the current retail price of 1.19 euros instead of 1.49 euros, but the bottom line is that the hidden price increase amounts to 50 percent.
According to the VZHH's list of deceptive packaging, Aldi is the discounter that has implemented by far the most hidden price increases for its own brands since the beginning of 2022: Nine examples are documented for Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, compared to significantly fewer for other well-known discounters. "Aldi is secretly taking money out of people's pockets with the shrinkflation trick, but pretends to be an ally of customers in times of high food prices," says Armin Valet from the VZHH.
Petition against hidden price increases
The VZHH and the consumer organization Foodwatch are calling for the labelling of products that are sold at the same price despite a reduction in content. Such hidden price increases are barely recognizable, but are now commonplace in supermarkets. For consumers, this is not only an annoying deception, but also a financial burden in times of rising living costs, according to the organizations. More than 37,000 consumers have already supported a Foodwatch petition to Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and the German government at www.foodwatch.org/de/mitmachen/versteckte-preisabzocke-stoppen.
Consumers are often annoyed by hidden price increases. Provided they discover them. The VZHH offers the opportunity to draw attention to products that deceive customers in this way (less content for the same price). The VZHH then makes these products public and selects them as the cheat pack of the month and the year.
- Consumers should beware of hidden price increases in retail trade, as highlighted by the recent example of Gutbio fennel tea from Aldi Nord, which experienced a 50% increase despite a reduced filling quantity and number of tea bags.
- Armin Valet, from the Consumer Advice Center in Hamburg (VZHH), criticizes Aldi for applying shrinkflation tactics, concealing price hikes under the guise of lower prices, particularly for its own brands.
- The VZHH and Foodwatch have launched a petition against such deceptive pricing, urging Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and the German government to mandate clear labeling for products that continue to carry the same price despite a reduction in content.
- Foodwatch reports that Aldi has implemented the most hidden price increases for its own brands since the beginning of 2022, with nine examples documented compared to significantly fewer for other top discounters.
- The Consumer Advice Center invites consumers to bring attention to cheating products, promising to make them public and label them as the "cheat pack of the month" or "cheat pack of the year," as a means of educating and preventing consumers from falling victim to the deceptive practices in retail trade.
Source: www.ntv.de
