Carrefour, a French supermarket chain, cautions about the phenomenon of „shrinkflation“ impacting food prices.

Die französische Supermarktkette CarrefourStarting from Monday, Carrefour will be warning about hidden price increases on a range of food products using stickers. The stickers will state „Shrinkflation, the weight of this product has decreased, and the price from our supplier has increased,“ as announced by the company. Carrefour intends to place these stickers on various items such as coffee, chips, mayonnaise, and iced tea. The hidden price increases range from eight to 40 percent. The sticker also mentions the company’s commitment to renegotiating the price.

Recently, the Stiftung Warentest in Germany also warned about „shrinkflation“ – which refers to reduced content in packaging that is hardly noticeable.

Ein Gesetz soll die Industrie zur Kennzeichnung verpflichten

France is one step ahead. Carrefour is anticipating a proposed law by the French government in October that would require the industry to clearly indicate when the content decreases in the same packaging. „Some manufacturers reduce the content of their products while keeping the packaging the same, and sometimes even increase prices. This is scandalous,“ said Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

The current concern in France is the purchasing power and high prices, especially for food. Minister Le Maire has repeatedly demanded lower prices and relief for consumers from food industry corporations. After discussions with the industry last week, the Minister announced that prices for 5,000 food products will either remain stable or be reduced.

However, Le Maire also specifically called out some foreign multinational corporations that, in his opinion, did not do enough to ensure fair prices. The products mentioned by Carrefour also come from foreign food companies.