As inflation continues to exert pressure on retail prices, brands and supermarkets are seeking new ways to reduce their costs. One of these strategies is to reduce the size or quantity of their products (e.g. a pack of biscuits or bottle of washing-up liquid) while keeping the same packaging and price. In other words, the packaging looks the same on the shelf, but the consumer is actually getting less for the same price. This phenomenon is known as “shrinkflation”.
Regulatory landscape
The legal responses vary from country to country. In recent years, several EU Member States such as France, Hungary, Romania and Italy have adopted specific rules targeting shrinkflation and others are actively considering similar measures. In France, for example, supermarkets have since 1 July 2024 been obliged to inform their customers, for a period of two months, whether pre-packaged products are decreasing in quantity but are sold at the same or a higher price. This information notice has to be displayed on the packaging of the product or on a label placed close to the product.
In Belgium, there is currently no specific regulation prohibiting or regulating shrinkflation. Two draft bills have been submitted to the Belgian Parliament, but neither has been adopted. This may change in the future. The Consumer Protection Minister has recently announced his intention to regulate shrinkflation by ensuring that any changes in the quantity or weight of products are clearly displayed for consumers. Practical details of this notification obligation have not been disclosed yet.
Even in countries where no specific legislation has yet been adopted, product manufacturers have faced court proceedings for reducing the quantity of their product while keeping the same packaging and price. In Germany, the Hamburg Regional Court ruled in February 2024 that reducing the filling quantity of a spreadable fat while maintaining the same packaging, without sufficiently informing the consumer, was misleading.
Practical implications
Until specific legislation is adopted, shrinkflation will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis under the general prohibition of unfair and misleading commercial practices.
In our opinion, reducing the size or quantity of a product is not misleading as such, even though the packaging remains the same. The Belgian Federal Public Service Economy has indicated that shrinkflation is permissible as long as the net quantity of the product is clearly stated on the packaging and consumers are not misled. There is no case law in Belgium yet that provides more clarity about when shrinkflation becomes an unfair commercial practice.
Once specific legislation regulating shrinkflation is adopted in Belgium, its validity will still have to be assessed in the light of EU law. In March 2025, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Italy for introducing mandatory shrinkflation labelling. The Commission considers that this requirement to affix a specific label on each individual product is disproportionate.
