Consumers can again vote on the “sham package of the year”. The consumer center Hamburg nominated five candidates, which became significantly more expensive in the past year due to “particularly refined changes in filling quantities”. The list includes kitkat from Nestlé, biscuits from Bahlsen and Griesson-de Beukelaer, and sauces from Knorr and Homann. the Vote on the net runs until January 24th.
The consumer advocates accuse Nestlé of only packing four KitKat bars in an outer packaging instead of five as before. This would mean that the chocolate bars would be “secretly” 25 percent more expensive at the same price of 1.99 euros. “The company knows that this trick works well, and has already used this trick many times with its confectionery,” criticized the consumer association.
The five candidates for the negative price had already been chosen as “sham pack of the month” last year. Nestlé argued in March that it had responded to increased costs in recent years with the adjustment.
Airy biscuit packaging
Bahlsen and Griesson-de Beukelaer pillory consumer advocates for the very airy packaging of wafer sheets. For the “Perpetum” variety from Bahlsen, the manufacturer came up with a different name and a “chic” packaging design, but the box only contained 97 instead of 130 grams for the same price. The biscuits used to be called “Africa”. Bahlsen announced in June that it would no longer be able to produce the waffles economically without a price increase.
Griesson-de Beukelaer therefore almost doubled the size of the outer packaging for its “Wurzener wafer sheets” – but the amount has hardly changed. Instead of 100 grams for 99 cents, the company now sells 103 grams for 1.29 euros. The pastry has become 27 percent more expensive. The manufacturer did not comment on the changes at the request of the consumer advice center.
Sauce makers in the pillory
In the case of Homann’s “Paprika Sauce”, consumer advocates complain that the price has increased by 88 percent: Instead of 500 milliliters for 99 cents, 400 milliliters now cost 1.49 euros. In addition, the manufacturer has “improved” the recipe with significantly more sugar. Homann belongs to the Theo Müller group and refused to comment to the consumer advice center. When it comes to product inquiries, the company restricts itself to “direct dialogue with our end users”.
With the “cream sauce” from Knorr, there are now only two packs of ready-made sauce per packaging unit – at the same price of usually 1.19 euros in stores. The surcharge is up to 50 percent more. The Unilever group, to which Knorr belongs, now calls the sauce “sauce variant”, although the recipe is identical, explained the Hamburg consumer center. Unilever announced in November that it would respond to “changing consumer preferences” with the changeover.
“Again and again, well-camouflaged changes in filling quantities are the means of choice to implement sometimes drastic price increases,” explained Armin Valet from the Hamburg consumer center. “It works so well because the trade, which alone sets the sales prices, takes part, and politics lets the companies do their thing.” Consumers would often not even notice the trickery and would therefore pay significantly more for certain products.
“Packaging must be full”
Valet annoys not only the supposed price stability, but also the additional packaging waste, which is sometimes produced without need, and the associated waste of resources. “Manufacturers and retailers must finally change course consistently. The packaging must be full and must not become increasingly empty.”
The consumer advocates in the Hanseatic city have been collecting complaints and information about products in the trade for years and are now choosing the “sham package of the year” for the eighth time. The consumer advice center Hamburg also put a list with currently around 1000 entries on criticized products online. Consumers can call them up at www.vzhh.de/mogelpackungsliste.
A photo gallery with the sham packages of the past months can be found here.