Deception of the year: Who cheated the most?

Hidden price increases, half-empty packages and creative product rebranding: Last year, the Hamburg consumer advice center again received numerous complaints about deceptive packaging. From these products she is now presenting five candidates for election. Consumers can vote online until January 21st at 4 p.m. as to who should receive the negative price.

The bottom line is that the consumer advice center counted fewer deceptive packages in 2024 than in the previous year. On the other hand, the hidden price increases were significantly steeper on average. If you’re cheating on the price, then you’re obviously doing it right. Consumer advocates have been calling for a ban on deceptive packaging and explicit labeling of changes in filling quantities for a long time.

These are the five candidates nominated for election by the consumer advice center:

The Lebensbaum brand tomato seasoning salt has been sold in a new can for some time. It costs 3.99 euros instead of 2.99 euros, even though it only contains 80 grams instead of 150 grams. The price increase is well hidden: While the old can was well filled, the new one contains 40 percent air, as the consumer advice center measured. In a statement, the manufacturer speaks of a “consumption-optimized size” and the new packaging is more sustainable than the old one. The price increase is unavoidable due to higher costs for raw materials, transport and energy.

If you buy vanilla ice cream from the Cremissimo brand, you should take a closer look at how much ice cream you get for your money. Last year, at a price of 3.99 euros, some stores only offered 1,300 milliliters of content and shortly afterwards an almost identical-looking pack with only 900 milliliters of content. This corresponds to an increase of 44 percent per milliliter. Manufacturer Unilever emphasizes that the larger “family pack” is still available, but according to consumer advice centers it is only offered occasionally as a special offer. Curious: In some supermarkets, the different sizes were temporarily on the shelf next to each other at the same price.

At Granini, you can’t tell at first glance that there are only half as many oranges in the product. Because the bottle is still the same size, costs the same and contains just as much liquid as before. But: Instead of 100 percent orange juice, it only contains 50 percent. The rest is essentially water and sugar. The consumer advice center sees a classic case of “skimpflation” (same price for less quality). Eckes-Granini justifies the switch from pure juice to the extended “orange nectar” with the poor orange harvest and the associated price increases in purchasing. Granini does not see consumer deception as the “100% fruit juice” reference on the label has been removed and the color of the label has been adjusted.

The hidden price increase for the Aldi brand Biscotto wafers is not difficult to calculate: half the contents for the same price means a 100 percent price increase per gram. The consumer advocates were also annoyed that the new, smaller pack in the store with red price tags was seen as a “promotion ” was touted. Customers could easily think that something is being offered particularly cheaply, but the word “promotion” only refers to the fact that the product is not permanently available in the range. Aldi Nord, however, explained that the adjusted content was “clearly recognizable through a new packaging size and shape”. The doubling of prices can be explained by the “very sharp rise in raw material prices for cocoa”.

“Rich care” from Dove is now available in a new format – and at a new price. Instead of costing less than 2 euros, the shower gel now costs well over 3 euros, but there is even less in it. Price increase per milliliter: 97 percent. Manufacturer Unilever justifies the price increase with the “new, significantly higher quality and even more nourishing formulation in a new, innovative bottle shape”. From the point of view of the consumer advice center, this is purely marketing speak: it is a “typical bottle for a shower product” and the ingredients of the old and new product are “almost identical”. The first 22 ingredients appear again in exactly the same order. Of a total of 29 ingredients, only 2 are new.

Here you can find the online vote for the “