Reduce is the term used when a product, that is, reduces its size/quantity, but its price remains the same. For example: company X produces a chocolate bar that has 100 grams and costs R$ 5.00; to increase its earnings, company X decides to reduce the weight of the same chocolate bar to 85 grams, maintaining, however, the same value of R$ 5.00.
The practice does not is illegal, but companies need to follow certain criteria. The main one is to alert the consumer that there was a reduction in the size/measurement on the packaging. It is necessary to clarify what the amount was before, what the new amount is and how much it increased or decreased in absolute and percentage terms.
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Reduce is synonymous with high inflation
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The practice is not new, but the scenario is always the same. In times of high inflation and price escalation, companies try to get around the problem with a disguised sales strategy.
Salaries do not usually follow the rise in prices, so consumers have less capacity purchasing products, what economists call “reduced purchasing power”. Therefore, companies adopt the strategy to maintain their competitiveness.
Since consumers tend to check the packaging less, the industry ends up choosing to reduce the amount of product and maintain the price. For those who consume, the effect is much more psychological than practical. It disguises inflation but not its impact. Depending on the type of product, you will buy more units to match the amount that is missing.
Changing the formula is also a reduction
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“Dairy drink” and not milk; “sour cream mixture” in place of sour cream; “grated cheese food mixture” instead of grated cheese. There was even left over for the dulce de leche, which became “milk dulce de leche flavor”. The biggest impact of these changes was on the dairy sector, but the trend is increasing in the food industry.
In the case of dairy products, the phenomenon is the result of the increase in production costs, something around 62% in the last two years. The reduction in raw materials and the rise in prices set the stage for the emergence of these alternatives. Make no mistake: despite the release from Anvisa and the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), the practice is also reduplication.
The packages are usually very similar and the information is barely visible, not to mention that the price is very similar. To make matters worse, substitutions end up taking place to include ingredients with less nutritional value, also impacting the production of foods that use these ingredients in their recipes.
What does the legislation
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We reinforce that the changes, both in packaging size and in the composition of products, is permitted by current legislation. However, in order for it to be done, the consumer must be informed in a visible and easily identifiable way, on the packaging itself, for a period of not less than 6 months. The rules are set out in Ordinance No. 392/2021, of the Ministry of Justice.
According to the Consumer Protection Code, the supplier company is responsible for ensuring that customers can make a fair purchase. Therefore, it becomes a shared mission, as it requires consumers to pay attention when reading labels. Especially in the case of ingredient substitutions, we are talking more about health than inflation.
