– Storting representative Mimir Kristjansson from Rødt says that you have to be very monogamous to realize that a packet goes from 5 to 4 lefs or a box of butter goes from 600 to 540 grams.
At the last moment NRK And VG He presented many examples of shrinking products without reducing the price.
Suddenly there was one less lefs to offer. Manufacturer Baxt cites expensive raw materials and packaging as the cause.
Soft Flora replaced the package with margarine, with which 60 grams disappeared. Mills says the production problems were caused by loose lids on earlier cups. By this society will be saved from plastic.
Another item from Baxt has also shrunk – the knurlings have received a new design, which the manufacturer mentioned, but said nothing about the new package customers getting 160 grams less knurling.
Rema’s green soap bottle was changed to match the competition, while the price also increased. The price has been reduced again.
A labeling scheme is required
According to experts, such price hikes are difficult for consumers to absorb.
But today, according to the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, as long as the unit and kilo prices remain on the shelf, there is nothing stopping consumers from confusing small packages.
Rødt believes marketing rules should be changed to crack down on the practice of requiring players to label packaging.
– Then you should write that you got a new and small bag, because the same manufacturers have no problem writing “new and big bag”. We looked at the store several times, then the opposite must be possible, says Kristjansson.
Only consumers with a calculator and the memory of an elephant can expose the food industry’s price manipulation to meet today’s demands, believes storage representative Mimir Kristjansson (R).
Photo: Hannah Johre / NTB
Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) is the Minister for Consumer Affairs and says the government is not discussing the matter.
– I think this is a bureaucratic way of getting information, he tells NRK.
She has high hopes that industry regulations will tighten up players on angry customers and business practices. Because she’s not interested in shrinking either.
Consumer Affairs Minister Kirsty Tope from the Center Party.
Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas
– I strongly distance myself from it. I think the grocery industry needs to take care of itself. This is causing consumers to react strongly, and as consumer minister I am reacting strongly. He says they need to go within themselves and make sure the marketing doesn’t mislead their customers.
The professor calls for better business practices
In academia, deflation is a well-known phenomenon. Dor Wallin Andreasen, professor of economics at the Norwegian School of Economics, believes that the almost invisible launch of new products borders on unethical marketing.
But he is reluctant to put an end to the need for chains to label products.
NHH Professor Tor Wallin Andreassen.
Photo: Christian Lura / NRK
– You can work with the terms of business practice. When you offer more for the same price and get less for the same price, it is natural that you give information, he tells NRK.
Ideally, he wants to clean up the industry itself.
– If not, I am no stranger to the fact that we must have strong ways. Whether it’s legal or something in between, I’m very pragmatic. We should invest in volunteerism because it is common sense. If not, he says to put some more powder in the gloves.
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