Reduflation: Milka deceived consumers

A German court found that manufacturer Mondelez misled consumers by reducing Milka chocolate bars from 100 to 90 grams without significantly changing the packaging.

A German court ruled this Wednesday that the North American food products manufacturer Mondelez International deceived consumers by reducing the weight of the brand’s chocolate bars from 100 to 90 grams Milka without significantly altering the packaging, giving rise to an action brought by a consumer protection association.

According to the court, the visual expectation created by the packaging of a product already known to consumers conflicts with the actual net weight of the contents, which was reduced at the beginning of 2025. The court stated that an understandable and clearly visible warning should have been included on the packaging to avoid confusion. This warning, according to the judges, should have been maintained for at least four months after the quantity reduction, to allow consumers to assimilate the change.

Decision creates precedent

The decision is not yet final and the company has one month to appeal. The court said, however, that the decision has no immediate practical consequences, as the four-month transition period following the packaging change has already expired.

Like this, there is no obligation to change products that are already on store shelvesa court spokesperson told the DPA news agency.

Still, the decision is relevant for future cases and should increase scrutiny on the so-called “” practice in which manufacturers reduce the size of products without clearly signaling the change to consumers, maintaining the same price or even increasing it.

“We have noted today’s ruling and take it seriously. We are now reviewing the court’s reasoning in detail,” said a Mondelez spokesperson, adding that the company will continue to strive to ensure clear communication regardless of the outcome.

Mondelez, which also makes Oreo cookies, said it adjusted the weight of some Milka tablets last year to “continue to provide consumers with the quality standard they expect in a context that is more complex and unstable than ever before.”