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The German Consumers’ Association is taking Mondelez to court over misleading packaging for Milka chocolate. Its contents have been shrinking – almost unnoticeably – while prices are rising.
One millimetre thinner
Several Milka chocolate bars have recently been reduced in size from 100 grams to 90 grams, without much publicity. The change is barely noticeable to consumers, according to the German consumer watchdog: the packaging and design remained identical, while the bar itself became about one millimetre thinner. Shortly before this, retail prices had risen significantly.
The Hamburg branch of the Consumer Association has therefore filed a complaint against manufacturer Mondelez for unfair competition and misleading packaging. “Many consumers have been buying Milka chocolate in the usual packaging for years and assume that the contents have not changed”, the Consumer Association’s nutritionist Armin Valet explains. “But they are being misled, because some varieties now only contain 90 grams for the same – or even a higher – price.”
The new weight is correctly stated on the packaging, but in small print. Moreover, the weight is often covered by the outer boxes on supermarket shelves. For these reasons, the German branch of Foodwatch had already awarded Mondelez the ‘Goldene Windbeutel’ award for most misleading advertisement earlier this year.
“Necessary price increase”
The manufacturer defends itself by emphasising that the new weight of each bar is clearly stated on the product packaging and that the change was also announced on social media, with an overview of all bars, varieties and weights. The price increase is necessary, because cocoa prices have almost tripled in the past twelve months, the company says.
Incidentally, the Consumers’ Association is not only suing the manufacturer, but is also demanding binding regulations from the federal government on the matter. It demands that manufacturers obliged to display a warning for at least six months in case if shrinking quantities. In addition, the packaging size must be reduced as the contents decrease, the organisation says.
