Milka maker milked shoppers over size of chocolate bars, German court rules

Many chocolate lovers consider shrinkflation a serious crime – and they have been vindicated after a German court ruled that the makers of Milka cheated consumers by cutting the bar’s size, while keeping the wrapper the same. The three-week case in a regional court was brought by Hamburg’s consumer protection office. It accused the chocolate brand’s US owner Mondelēz of deceiving shoppers by cutting the weight of Milka’s classic Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the distinctive purple packaging. Shrinkflation, where product sizes are reduced but prices stay the same (or even go up), has become all too common as manufacturers try to offset rising business and ingredient costs. After last year’s changes, the Milka bar was a millimetre thinner and the price increased from €1.49 (£1.29) to €1.99 (£1.72). Ahead of Christmas, the Guardian revealed widespread shrinkflation in the confectionery aisle. This included lighter boxes of Quality Street and Celebrations, as well as smaller Terry’s Chocolate Oranges. Toblerone – another Mondelēz brand – had also suffered erosion with 20g shaved off its chocolatey peaks, reducing a 360g bar to 340g. Chocolate has become more expensive because of poor harvests in west Africa , in particular Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where more than half of the world’s cocoa beans are harvested. …