We now know the “shrinkflation”, this commercial practice which consists in increasing prices while reducing the size of a product. But do you know the “cheaplation”? This method was notably denounced by the NGO Foodwatch in 2024 with accusations to the key to large agrifood groups: Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelez.
What is it exactly?
The word itself is a cheap contraction (low-end in English) and flation for inflation. Foodwatch very clearly defines it as “The degradation of the nutritional quality of a product, namely the energy value, the lipid content, in protein, in vitamins or organoleptic linked to the appearance, to taste, to flavor, and the increase in its price in the liter or kg ”.
In detail, six well -known consumer products were pointed out at the time: After Eight, Bordeau Chesnel, Findus, Fleury Michon, Maille and Milka. The NGO accuses these companies of reducing, substituting, or deleting one ingredient by another cheaper or less good quality.
Quoted by France InfoAudrey Morice, campaign manager for Foodwatch, regretted: “ With ‘cheapflation’, consumers are doubly losing. People buy products that are less good and they pay more expensive. »»
The marks pointed at the finger attempt to defend themselves and invoked an increase in the costs of raw materials last year. Other observers emphasize that it is mainly for manufacturers to keep their high margins, while ensuring that prices do not fly too much for their customers. Although criticisms, these methods are however legal according to legal experts contacted by the public media.
A recent example
The magazine 60 million consumers has just mentioned a case which he describes as “cheapflation”. A client used to buy long rice from Camargue “Mediterranean”. It is a protected geographical indication (IGP) of the winged bull brand. He disappeared for several weeks in local supermarkets.
This article then returned to the shelves and its price had literally exploded from 75 % to 2.09 euros for 500 grams. Worse, if the packaging is likely to be mistaken in the previous one, the provenance is different. By turning the package, we observe that it is no longer an IGP and that rice comes from Italy.
Did you know these techniques from the major brands of the food industry? Tell us in the comments.
