Carrefour in France Alerts Consumers to 'Shrinkflation' with Warning Signs

15 Sep, 2023

Carrefour in France Alerts Consumers to 'Shrinkflation' with Warning Signs

French retail giant Carrefour has taken a proactive stance by placing stickers on store shelves to alert customers to the phenomenon known as "shrinkflation." This practice involves reducing the quantity or size of a product while keeping its price unchanged. Carrefour has singled out products such as Lipton Ice Tea, Lindt chocolate, and Viennetta ice cream as examples of this trend.

Shoppers are now being informed if the contents of a product have been downsized or if the packaging has become lighter. Carrefour's goal is to exert pressure on the manufacturers of these products to maintain fair pricing practices. According to Stefen Bompais, Director of Client Communications at Carrefour, "Obviously, the aim in stigmatizing these products is to be able to tell manufacturers to rethink their pricing policy."

Carrefour has identified 26 products from major food companies like Nestle, PepsiCo, and Unilever that have undergone downsizing without corresponding price reductions. For instance, Nestle's Guigoz infant milk formula has transitioned from a 900g pack to an 830g pack. Similarly, PepsiCo's sugar-free peach-flavored Lipton Ice Tea has been reduced from 1.5 liters to 1.25 liters, and Unilever's Viennetta has shrunk from 350g to 320g.

Carrefour, the second-largest grocer in France, is drawing attention to these products through in-store signs that read, "This product has seen its volume/weight fall and the effective price charged by the supplier rise."

Food giants Unilever, Pepsico, and Nestle have not responded to Carrefour's actions. In France, as in the UK, retailers and food manufacturers are facing pressure to lower prices due to soaring consumer costs. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire convened a meeting with 75 retailers and consumer groups in June to address this issue, accusing manufacturers of not aligning with inflation rates.

In the UK, consumer groups have also raised concerns about "shrinkflation" affecting the value of everyday items, from cat food to chocolate biscuits. However, it is unlikely that UK supermarkets will follow Carrefour's approach, as it could potentially strain relationships between retailers and food producers. Retail expert Ged Futter commented that such a strategy risks being overly confrontational and counterproductive.

Futter also pointed out that supermarkets employ the same "shrinkflation" tactic with their own-label products to maintain specific price points, often by using cheaper ingredients or reducing portion sizes in response to rising costs. Therefore, criticizing brands for similar practices could lead to accusations of hypocrisy.

A spokesperson for Lindt & Sprüngli, one of the brands mentioned by Carrefour for downsizing its products, stated that their prices had increased by an average of approximately 9.3% in line with rising raw material costs. The spokesperson emphasized that product size information is always provided in accordance with labeling laws and regulations, allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.