In the breakfast cereal aisle, two boxes of Chocapic (Nestlé), side by side, catch the eye. One displays “ New 375 g format » on a bright blue background – it appeared at the end of March on the shelves of supermarkets. Seen from the supermarket aisle, the two boxes appear to be the same dimensions. Seen from above, however, the new format is narrower. The weights indicated give the measure of the reduction: we go from 430 g to 375 g, a loss of almost 13%. But if the box shrinks, the price per kilo increases! Between the 430 g package and the 375 g package, the increase is 37%, according to our price records in supermarkets. More than the 35% inflation already recorded by the Chocapic package between April 2022 and April 2024! Ditto for the 750 g package and the new 645 g format, i.e. a reduction of 14% and a price increase of 20%. Lion cereals, another Nestlé product, are also doing well: their packaging is reduced from 750 g to 675 g (i.e. -10%), while the price per kilo increases by 29%, after having suffered an inflation of 43% in 2 years !
Asked by What to chooseNestlé responds that it has “reviewed the positioning” of its Chocapic brand, “but also the Nesquick, Crunch and Lion brands with new packaging, new weights and a price adjustment”. However, neither the recipe nor the ingredients have changed. The objective is strictly to return “ in the average market price ». Reducing weight is therefore the only way to achieve this increase without significantly changing the face value of the product.
A cat is expensive
Same scenario in the pet food aisle. The 2 kg package of Friskies chicken kibble for kittens (from the Purina brand, owned by… Nestlé!) gives way to the 1.5 kg package; Customers’ wallets cost 26% to 67% more per kilo depending on the brand. Contacted, Purina confirms a “price adjustment” of its Friskies offer, without changing the recipe. The brand specifies that these new formats are “clearly” indicated to consumers on the packaging.
A usual strategy
Do these practices fall under the “shrinkflation” order announced by the government? Difficult to say, this text has not yet been published. Presented at the initiative of the Ministry of the Economy, the measure would make “compulsory consumer information” for products “which have undergone a downward change in weight or volume leading to an increase in price per unit of measurement”. As long as it is the same product…
However, in the cases cited, these new packaging displays new barcodes, even if the consumer buys the same merchandise. The practice is common and old, and not only in the food industry: razors that go from 2 to 3 blades, larger TVs, cars incorporating safety standards or air conditioning as standard… these arguments justify the price increase . Here, for its Chocapic, Nestlé emphasizes using “since this year sustainably sourced cocoa”. Unfortunately, no independent label supports it: Nestlé refers to its “Cocoa Plan” developed internally, an approach which What to choose considers the reliability insufficient. As for Friskies, it is the French manufacturing of the products and local sourcing “when possible” which are highlighted. A little short to get the kibble through!
Just one piece of advice to thwart these tricks: always refer to the price per kilo (or per liter).
