“Dupe consumers”: Supermarket products have secretly become more expensive – the content is also shrinking
Created: 01/09/2023 11:36 am
By: Helmi Krappitz
The price is rising and the content is shrinking: the cheese branded Leerdammer turns out to be a real sham.
This is despite the fact that the pack previously advertised “permanently” more capacity.
Hamburg – For months, the impression has been that consumers have to dig deeper into their wallets at the supermarket checkout.
Rising prices and less content: The Hamburg consumer advice center is now letting consumers vote on the "deceptive packaging of the year 2022".
There are five products to choose from, which, according to consumer advocates, have become significantly more expensive in the past year due to reduced filling quantities and, in some cases, additional price increases.
Voting is possible until January 22nd.
Rising prices and less content: Leerdammer with a 43 percent price increase
One manufacturer in particular stands out.
Almost all types of cheese from the Leerdammer brand have seen a price increase of up to 43 percent.
What is striking, however, is the reduced filling quantity of the cheese packs.
Two years ago, Lactalis advertised the product “Leerdammer Original” as “+ 1 disc, permanently more”.
Now there is only 140 grams in the pack instead of 160 grams.
At the same time, the price has increased from 1.99 euros to 2.49 euros at many retailers.
Other cheeses of the brand are also affected by such hidden price increases.
In addition, many supermarkets and discounters are raising the prices of their products.
The consumer center Hamburg publishes a statement from Lactalis on the drastic price increase.
Reasons are the high milk prices and cost increases for packaging and raw materials.
Another reason given is the expensive transport.
Whether that justifies the reduction in content is questionable.
Rising prices and less content - Leerdammer turns out to be a sham with drastic price increases.
© IMAGO/Gelhot
Deceptive packaging: Other manufacturers also choose this scam
Other nominated products also include Upfield's 'Rama', Kellogg's 'Pringles' and Reckitt Benckiser's 'Calgon'.
Haribo's "gummy bears" are also among the candidates for deceptive packaging of the year.
The products show a price increase of between 14 and 42 percent.
The manufacturers of these products also decide to reduce the contents of the pack.
More than 700 complaints about deceptive packaging were received by the Hamburg Consumer Advice Center between August and October last year.
According to consumer protection, such price increases usually target all branded products for profit.
Legal basis: Consumer advocates are calling for more support from politicians
According to consumer advocates, fraudulent packages are rarely prosecuted.
"The current laws give companies a lot of freedom to fool consumers," reports the consumer advice center.
They demand that a reduction in filling quantities should only be permitted under specific legal requirements.
Stricter rules are also required with regard to environmental and resource protection.
Packs should always be full.
(hk)