Exciting Update: Popular French Grocery Chain Introduces ‘Shrinkflation’ Labels to Boost Transparency!

Carrefour, the well-known French grocery chain, has taken a bold and creative approach to address the issue of shrinking product sizes and rising prices. The company has introduced special labeling on products that have recently undergone shrinkflation.

By adding these warning stickers in stores and on its website, Carrefour aims to put pressure on suppliers who have increased prices despite recent decreases in raw material costs.

Carrefour’s product labeling initiative includes popular items such as Lipton Iced Tea, Pepsi, Lindt chocolates, and baby milk powder. The intention behind this strategy is to encourage manufacturers to reconsider their pricing policies.

“Obviously, the aim in stigmatizing these products is to be able to tell manufacturers to rethink their pricing policy,” said Stefen Bompais, a director of client communications at Carrefour, in an interview with Reuters.

Carrefour did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

This labeling campaign by Carrefour includes 26 products, with labels stating, “This product has seen its volume or weight fall and the effective price by the supplier rise,” according to Reuters.

This move comes as brands are preparing to negotiate their positions with retailers, as reported by Reuters.

In November 2022, Carrefour announced a new strategic plan to address macroeconomic, geopolitical, and climate challenges. The plan focuses on making its products accessible to its customer base.

Shrinkflation, where products decrease in size while prices increase, tends to occur more frequently during periods of high inflation. However, manufacturers rarely inform consumers about these changes, making them difficult to detect, explained Edgar Dworsky, founder of Mouse Print, a website that tracks instances of shrinkflation in groceries, during an interview with CNBC in April.

— CNBC’s Mike Winters contributed to this report.