Food sold in “family” format, but “more expensive per kilo or litre”: the Foodwatch association, which promotes transparency in agribusiness and distribution, denounced in a press release on Wednesday certain more expensive products when they are sold in “maxi” format or in sets. “With soaring inflation, many consumers wanting to save money are turning to what they think are bargains,” says Foodwatch. However, the price per kilo of large formats is sometimes more expensive, in reality, than the same product in standard packaging, according to the association.
Foodwatch, alerted by consumers “annoyed to find this practice again and again in supermarkets”, “checked in the” drives “and the shelves of the main supermarket chains” and noted in early April a list of 12 products whose price in special formats was higher per kilo than the standard format. The inventory of products mentioned ranges from Lustucru pan-fried gnocchi, the price per kilo of which increases by 7% between the 300-gram package and that of 500 grams at the Carrefour de Vannes, to the President goat cheese log which takes 5.5% in maxi format at the Hyper U of Saint-Avé (Morbihan). Another example is the Harrys sliced brioche, whose price per kilo in maxi format has risen by 6.2% at E.Leclerc in Vannes.
This list is not exhaustive and the price of commodities depends on each store as well as when it is measured – knowing that it is very volatile in times of inflation. But Foodwatch believes that “every penny more paid per kilo or liter on a special format is a penny too much”.
In September 2022, the organization warned of a related marketing practice, “shrinkflation”, which consists of masking the price increase of products by reducing the quantities in similar packaging. A legal practice provided that the mention of the weight of the food is modified, but which can mislead consumers. “These abuses should be prohibited or strictly framed as promotions are. With consumers, we are therefore calling on the government,” said campaign manager Audrey Morice in the Foodwatch press release.