Overview
- Aldi says permanent reductions took effect on January 15 across roughly 4,200 stores, cutting prices on Barissimo coffee by 16 to 76 cents and trimming selected frozen, meat and canned items after lower raw‑material costs.
- An analysis by Smhaggle reports around a quarter of Lidl’s 2025 “permanent” cuts are now pricier again, a claim Lidl disputes while asserting about 900 items are currently cheaper without naming specific products.
- Kölln’s XXL Schoko-Hafer-Müsli dropped in shelf price from €9.99 to €7.99 but the pack shrank from 1,700 g to 1,050 g, which the Hamburg consumer group says amounts to roughly a 30% unit-price increase and a nomination for “Mogelpackung des Jahres.”
- Shoppers highlight concrete cases such as Edeka own-brand chocolate sold as a 90 g bar for €1.69 and Milka bars now at 85 g for €1.99, fueling calls to leave products on the shelf in protest.
- Consumer advocates note France, Hungary and Austria require clear notices for reduced-fill products, the EU has adopted a packaging rule targeting such practices by 2030, and Germany remains without comparable national measures.