The smaller the quantity, the lower the price. REAL? Not necessary.

The French supermarket chain Carrefour is putting notices on its shelves to warn its customers about the phenomenon of “shrinkflation” (something like “reduflation”, a mix of downsizing with inflation), in which companies reduce the size of their products but keep prices the same.

Among the products that Carrefour has singled out and shamed are the Lipton iced tea brand, Lindt chocolates and Viennetta ice creams.

The supermarket chain warns consumers when the size of a bottle or container has been reduced; or if they contain less content than usual.

Carrefour said it wanted to put pressure on manufacturing companies to keep prices low.

“Obviously, the aim of stigmatizing these products is to tell brands that they need to rethink their pricing policies,” says Stefen Bompais, director of customer communications at Carrefour.

However, consumer protection groups in Europe say the practice of “reduffling” is widespread to the point that Even supermarkets like Carrefour display it under their own brands.

With recognizable labels, the supermarket warns consumers about products that have suffered “red inflation”. Reuters

The problem with prices

Despite the company’s unmasking strategy, consumer protection associations accuse Carrefour of also engaging in “reduflation”. GETTY IMAGES

Carrefour has identified 26 products that have reduced without changing their price, from companies such as Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever.

Carrefour says Nestlé’s Guigoz infant milk, for example, has been reduced from 900g to 830g.

A bottle of Lipton unsweetened peach-flavored iced tea – made by PepsiCo – has jumped from 1.5 to 1.25 litres, according to the French supermarket chain.

Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard has repeatedly said that consumer goods companies They have not cooperated with efforts to reduce prices despite reductions in raw material prices.

It is the same attitude with which French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met with the 75 largest retailers and consumer groups in June to ask them to reduce the prices of their products.

Le Maire said that despite several rounds of negotiations, Nestlé and PepsiCo were among the companies that did not want to cut prices.

These two companies did not offer statements on the subject, but Chocolate brand Lindt has confirmed that it has recorded a 9.3% increase in the cost of its raw materials.

Carrefour’s CEO says the strategy aims to ensure brands keep prices low. GETTY IMAGES

“Reduflation”

The phenomenon of red inflation does not only exist in Europe, but has also been present in Latin America for several years.

Cuauhtémoc Rivera, president of the National Alliance of Small Retailers of Mexico (ANPEC), said in an interview with BBC Mundo in 2018 that in his country this trend has generally affected high consumption products that are offered in smaller presentations and packaging different from packaging. the original ones.

Brands have been practicing red inflation in Latin America for some time. GETTY IMAGES

He pointed out that this phenomenon is visible in bread, snacks, fried food, cereals, oils, tuna, olives, softeners, detergents and soft drinks, among others.

Vanessa Ruiz, general director of the Center for Storekeepers, Self-Service and Retail Traders from Córdoba (Argentina), also indicated at the time that they had been detecting “reduflation” for some time.

“Many companies do it gradually as a form of savings, because these small reductions in each product mean an important benefit for them,” he told BBC Mundo.

Cuauhtémoc Rivera, of ANPEC, said that in Mexico, “reduflation” was triggered by a sharp decline in the purchasing power of consumers.

“Companies are looking to open up their portfolio to put their products within the reach of different pockets with these presentations of their products with smaller volumes,” he noted.