Shrinkage inflation: several products became smaller in December and January – baked goods, sweets, razor blades, and dishwashing detergent were also affected

There is public data on this phenomenon because the regulation prescribes a reporting obligation in the event of a reduction in packaging for certain product groups (especially pre-packaged products introduced between January 1, 2020 and July 1, 2023 and sold in high-traffic stores).

Specific examples from the current list:

• Bakeries: Auchan’s own-brand bars have seen a size reduction (e.g. 100 g → 75 g; 110 g → 85 g).

• Sweets/cocoa: the S-Budget instant cocoa drink reduced from 800 g to 500 g; Belgian Seashells Dark “sea fruit” dessert 195 g instead of 250 g; 7Days hazelnut biscuits shrunk from 110 g to 98 g.

• Chocolate: according to the announcements cited by Portfolio the weight of several Milka products has also decreased (for example, 90 g → 80 g).

• Razor blades: some Gillette packages have a reduced number of pieces (e.g. 4 → 3; 14 → 12).

• Dishwashing detergent: some Jar dishwasher tablet packages have also been reduced in number (e.g. 46 → 41; 35 → 34; 85 → 84).

According to official communication, not all size reductions are automatically considered “cheating”, but for consumers The key issue is the development of the unit price – this is not included in the official list, so the extent of the price change cannot be tracked directly.

From a commercial perspective, the practical message of the regulation is: when reducing packaging, not only the manufacturer’s packaging and notification matter, but also how stores handle the transition on the shelves (especially if the previous – larger – version is no longer available).