(FINANCIAL POST) – While so-called shrinkflation — where the cost of a product stays the same though its size declines — isn’t a new phenomenon, consumer-protection authorities in Europe’s top economy are being inundated by complaints.
Its Hamburg branch alone received about 100 in the past two weeks — a record that’s three to five times above the norm.
The group’s list of “bluff packages” includes 14 per cent inflation for gummy bears and 20 per cent for potato chips. Manufacturers have called a 25 per cent price jump for some margarines an “exceptional step in difficult times” caused by “dramatic cost increases across the whole supply chain, including raw materials.”