Companies use shrinkflation to increase profits by reducing product size without raising prices. Most people will notice a change in price, but will often miss a change in size, especially when the change is concealed by the outside packaging. Even matzoh for Passover was shrunk this year. French supermarket Carrefour made waves last year when it began labeling items hit by shrinkflation, including the effective price increase.
Mouse Print, a site dedicated to "exposing the strings and catches buried in the fine print," reports that France will soon require that stores label shrinkflation. They have helpfully provided an English translation of the press release.
… from July 1, 2024 , for consumer products which have undergone a downward change in weight or volume leading to an increase in price per unit of measurement. specific obligation to inform consumers, relating to these developments. This information must be provided by distributors in large and medium-sized stores, in the immediate vicinity of the products concerned. It must appear in these physical stores during the two months following the marketing date of the industrial food and non-food products concerned (bottles of soda, packets of rice, laundry detergent or cans, for example), and this, whether national brand or private label products. Not affected by these provisions are prepackaged foodstuffs, the quantity of which may vary during preparation (deli section for example) and foodstuffs sold in bulk.
According to Mouse Print, France is only the second country to require this kind of labeling.
Previously: Shrinkflation database tracks diminishing size of food products
